LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Jan. 30, 2010) - Last time these two teams
tangled, Pomona Pitzer walked into halftime with a 36-28 lead, and
the Tigers had to claw their way to a road win. Tonight they
were back in the friendly confines of Rush Gymnasium, and made sure
their defense did not put them in the same position, as they
surrendered only 14 first half points and cruised to a 72-44
victory.
The Sagehens did not break double digits until there was 4:05
left in the first half, but Oxy already had 34 points on the
scoreboard. Eight players shared the load on the offensive
end, led by Samantha Rossi's seven points in nine
minutes of action. Gillian Nugent also
poured in seven points while Makenzie Brandon
controlled the glass with 9 boards. The defense is where the
Tigers really made a statement, limiting Pomona Pitzer to only six
first half baskets and a mere 18.8% shooting from the field.
Oxy sprinted into halftime with a commandin6 37-14 lead.
Pomona Pitzer was never able to crack the Oxy defense, as the
lead ballooned to 37, as the Tigers continued to work on both ends
of the floor, leading 59-22 with less than 10 minutes to
play. Laura Mohler led the offense in the
second half, with 7 points to go along with two assists and two
steals. Elizabeth Little also chipped in 5
points in the half, as Oxy had another balanced scoring
half, with 11 players helping the Tigers knock in 35
points.
The Sagehens (5-12, 1-7) found their shooting touch late in the
game, and were led by Asha Gipson's double double, as she scored 10
points and collected 10 rebounds.
Rossi led all scorers with 11 points, while Dior
Williams filled up the stat sheet with 8 points, 5
rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Katelyn
Rowe hauled in 7 rebounds to go with 8 points.
As a team, the black and orange shot 47.6% from the field for
the game, holding Pomona Pitzer to just 25.5% after the 40 minutes
of play.
Now up for Oxy (15-4, 7-1) is a road match up with Whittier
College (12-7, 5-3) on Thursday, February 4th. The
Poets are the only team to defeat the Tigers in SCIAC play this
year, so round two will tip off at 7:30pm.
