ORANGE — Sometimes in close games the ball has to bounce your way.

Without her dribble and with the shot clock winding down, Liz Little (Littleton, Colo.) hit an off-balance, left-handed three-pointer with 4:53 left in the game, ending a 15-4 Chapman run while giving Oxy enough of a cushion to beat the previously undefeated Panthers 68-59 at the Hutton Center on Saturday in the first ever SCIAC meeting between the schools.

"All that practice with my elbow hurt paid off," Little said sarcastically. The 5-foot-7 senior captain had an elbow injury to her shooting arm that limited part of her preseason practice to just her left hand.

"Honestly, it was just a team win. It was our best game, but that doesn't mean it was without problems. I had a lot of turnovers, we had a lot of turnovers. … But we fought through it and came out with the win."

Oxy (3-2, 2-0 SCIAC) overcame 31 turnovers against the frantic, full-court pressure defense Chapman (5-1, 1-1 SCIAC) has become known for.

Little had seven of those, but finished with 13 points on 5 for 9 shooting and four rebounds.

Oxy's Marquisha Corley (Tucson, Ariz.) had a career-high 19 points and Brandon posted her third double-double of the season with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

Corley was crucial to Oxy's press break as one of the Tigers' primary ball handlers.

"She just set the tone with her energy and aggressiveness," Occidental coach Anahit Aladzhanyan said. "Her offense was a huge bonus tonight after she broke the press."

Oxy has now beaten Chapman the last five times they've met them dating back to an overtime NCAA Division III playoff loss in 2009.

The recent games have been close. Oxy won on a Katelyn Rowe (Carlsbad) layup as time expired at Chapman last year and beat the Panthers in double overtime on Super Bowl Sunday at Rush Gymnasium. But this Chapman team may be as good as any. Earlier this year, the Panthers took down No. 2 George Fox, who made it all the way to the NCAA Championship game in 2011-12.

"It's a huge road win against a very good Chapman team," Aladzhanyan said. "I'm very proud of our effort, our poise and just being able to stay in the moment."

Little's prayer not only took the momentum away from the Panthers, but ignited an 8-0 Oxy run that gave the Tigers a cushion they needed to pick up their second SCIAC win and first road win of the season. After Little's desperation attempt, Brandon scored an and-one and a pair of three throws on consecutive possessions to give Oxy a 60-51 lead with 4:03 left.

Oxy sat on 60 until Brandon picked up a loose ball in the paint and found Corley for a layup, putting the Tigers up 62-57 with 1:29 remaining.

Emily McCoy scored on the Panthers' next possession, cutting the lead to three, but Little answered with another bucket to make it a two-possession game with less than 1 minute to play.

Chapman's Kimi Takaoka had a game-high 23 points.

The Panthers did a good job against Elizabeth Messick (Reno, Nev.). The 6-foot-3 post player, who came into the game averaging more than 15 rebounds per game, was limited to three points and five rebounds.

Chapman plays next at Whittier on Dec. 6. Oxy hosts Redlands on Dec. 6 at Rush Gymnasium.