THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Two separate three point flurries sparked the Tigers to a 54-49 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over the California Lutheran University Regals tonight in Thousand Oaks.

A tight start to the first half was broken open by back to back triples by the Tigers.  Up 11-10, Stephanie Babij and Michelle Lo drained jumpers from long distance on consecutive possessions, propelling the Black and Orange to a 17-10 lead.  The Regals fought back to take a 22-21 advantage.  But the energy expelled in the run was apparent as the Tigers shut down the CLU offense for the rest of the half, holding the Regals scoreless over the final 2:15, while scoring five straight, punctuated by another three pointer by Lo.  The Tigers headed into intermission up 26-22.

The final twenty minutes mirrored the opening stanza, as Cal Lu pulled to within one possession several times, but once again could not overcome another three point flurry by the Tigers. With Oxy up 34-33, the Black and Orange went on a 11-1 run, kick started by Lo who drained two more from deep, then Makenzie Brandon muscled through the interior for two, followed appropriately by another bomb from Laura Mohler and Oxy now found themselves up by double digits as the scoreboard read 45-34.  The Regals tried to rally, but the momentum swing was too much, as Oxy was able to hold off a late push to take home the five point victory.

The Tigers put together another solid defensive performance, totaling eight blocked shots and seven steals on the night.  That balanced defensive effort made it tough on the Regals, which resulted in the home squad making just 29.8% of its attempts from the field.  Katelyn Rowe anchored Oxy's formidable frontcourt with six blocked shots.

The timely shooting of Lo stymied any momentum the Regals tried to muster, as the freshman finished five of eight from behind the arc, as Oxy shot 42.1% (8-19) as a team from deep.  Lo's 15 points led all scorers, with Brandon putting together a double double performance (11 points and a game high 10 rebounds), while Mohler rounded out the double digit scoring with 10 of her own.

Cal Lutheran (10-8, 4-3) was led by Brianna Parker, who scored 10 points, and Erica Whitley's eight point night.

Oxy (11-7, 6-1) now sits atop a very close SCIAC race, as the University of Redlands lost tonight at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in double overtime (90-83) to drop to second place, followed by four teams tied for third in the conference, CLU, Whittier, CMS, and La Verne, all with matching 4-3 records.  The Tigers will look to separate themselves from the pack, as they travel to second place Redlands on Thursday, February 3rd, with tip off scheduled for 7:30pm.