LOS ANGELES, Calif. – A trio of Tigers reached double figures as the Occidental College women's basketball team lived to play another day, defeating the University of La Verne, 52-45, in the Semi-Final game of the 2011 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Post Season Tournament.

The Tigers got out to a 5-0 lead, but the teams would never be separated by more than five points in the opening half as ULV earned a four-point, 28-24 lead at the intermission.

ULV took their momentum from the first half into the opening minutes of the second stanza, scoring five unanswered points to produce the larges gap of the night at nine points. Oxy quickly went on an 8-0 run to erase that deficit and pull within a point.

With just over 10 minutes to play, sophomore Makenzie Brandon put the Tigers up when she scored a lay-up, drew the foul and finished off the and-one to spark the bench and get the crown involved. After Brittni Walker and Stephanie Babij knocked down a pair of free-throws apiece, Michelle Lo followed Brandon's lead, with a three-point play of her own with 5:45 remaining in regulation. A little over a minute later Babij did the same, scoring in the paint while being fouled. The free-throw gave Oxy a double figure lead.

The Leopards would not go away quietly, though, chipping away back to within give at 49-45 with 29 ticks to go. Forced to foul, ULV sent both Brandon and Laura Mohler to the line as they combined to go 3-for-4 to lock up the win and send the Tigers to the Championship game on Saturday evening.

Lo was 3-for-6 from long range to score a team-high 15 points while Babij was next in line with 13 points. Brandon recorded a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double for the Tigers. Mohler handed out a game-high five assists while Brandon added three.

In just 14 minutes of action, Walker grabbed seven boards and added an assist. Both Babij and Stephanie Scamman came away with three of the Tigers' 10 steals in the game. 

Kelly Kika was lead leading scorer with 17 with Emily Carillo chipping in 12 points in the Leopards effort.

Occidental (18-8, 12-2 SCIAC) will play at home in the friendly confines of Rush Gymnasium after earning the No. 1 seed as the SCIAC Champions. The Black and Orange will host the No. 3 seeded Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athenas (20-6, 9-5 SCIAC) after they upset No. 2 University of Redlands, 52-46 on their home court tonight.

Tip-off for the SCIAC Championship Game will take place tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 26, at 5:00 p.m. with an NCAA Division III Tournament Automatic Berth at stake.

Admission will be $5.00 and gates open at 4:00 p.m., one hour prior to scheduled tip-off at Rush Gymnasium.

Article by Tracy Maple, Sports Information Director