ORANGE, Calif.– In their final tune up before league play, the Tigers snapped a 12-game Panthers win streak as Occidental College defeated Chapman University on the road, 61-49, tonight at the Hutton Sports Center. The biggest difference tonight was shooting at the free-throw line as the Black and Orange combined to go 24-for-26, including a 16-for-17 second half performance.

After taking a 10-point, 31-21, lead at the intermission, the Tigers and Panthers continued to claw throughout the final 20 minutes. The momentum shifted mid-way through the half when Stephanie Scamman took a charge and the Tigers finished the play when Marquisha Corley hit a three-pointer with a second left on the shot clock with just over 10 minutes to play, giving the Tigers a 41-32 lead. Chapman would chip their way back into the game, cutting the deficit to three late in the second half.  

From the start the Tigers came out with all cylinders firing as senior center Stephanie Babij won the tip-off.

"Tonight was a great win for our team; from start to finish we had people playing at a high level and it was really fun to see their hard work pay off," head coach Heidi VanDerveer shared after the game. "We have tremendous leadership from our upperclassmen and tremendous energy and talent in our youngsters. It was fun to see their maturity transform into success against a quality team tonight."

A physical game shone through in the final minutes of the game as Chapman was called for a technical, sending senior Laura Mohler to the line, as she knocked down 4-for-4 to seal the victory for the Tigers with 22 seconds to play. Mohler finished the game 6-for-6 from the line. Chapman committed a combined 23 fouls in the game.

Leading the Tigers' group of young vibrant student-athletes tonight was the senior-freshman duo of Mohler and Michelle Lo, who scored15 and a game-high 18 points (7-for-7 at the line), respectively. Babij turned in a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double for the Tigers. Lo was 3-for-6 from behind the arc while Mohler was responsible for three of the Tigers' six assists and came up with a steal. Scamman finished with eight points and an assist tonight.

Babij and Mohler have led on the court verbally and by example during the course of their careers and tonight was no different. The leadership they provide has aided the Tigers to getting where they are today.

"Chapman is a really good team, but our work during pre-season has really paid off," Lo said. "The win tonight shows how much we have grown as a team. We know how we play together and the younger players can look to our seniors for guidance. Laura came up with some big free-throws and Stephanie came down with some rebounds tonight that helped us win."

Fortunately that leadership does not end on the court with those two players.

"The seniors push us in practice and everyone on this team, on the court and on the bench, has provided insight, noticing small things that happen, and help make us a better team."

Oxy also held a rebounding edge, 37-31, although CU came away with two more offensive rebounds (14) than the Tigers. In the first half Oxy came down with 20 to the Panthers' 13. Katelyn Rowe finished behind Babij with six rebounds and Scamman pulled down five.

The Tigers forced 12 Chapman turnovers, coming away with six steals. Elizabeth Messick, who had the tall order of guarding Panthers' 6-foot-1 center, Brandi Hood, finished with two steals. Rowe, who shared the responsibility of matching-up with Hood, recorded a pair of blocks for Oxy.

The defenses on both ends stepped up as the Tigers and Panthers shot 33 and 35 percent from the floor, respectively. Oxy held Chapman to 0-for-8 from long range throughout the duration of the contest.

 "Chapman challenges you to play basketball outside of a system that you've gotten used to," Mohler explained. "They take you out of your normal flow with their aggressive defense and tonight showed and proved to our team that we can handle adversity and anything that is thrown at us, even if it means improvising outside of our offensive system."

Chapman (13-4) was led by Casey Gomez who scored 14 points while Hood finished with 11 and a team-high eight rebounds.

 "The game tonight was perfect timing going into league play because we know we can rely on our team in any situation," Mohler added.

Occidental (5-6) opens up Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday when they travel to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps to tip-off against the Athenas at 5:00 p.m. prior to the men's league opener at 7:00 p.m.

Article by Tracy Maple, Sports Information Director