LOS ANGELES — Mallory North led the Occidental women's basketball team with nine points, five blocks and six rebounds, Taylor Yoshida added 10 points and five rebounds and Raveena Dhiman had eight points and seven rebounds.

But the Tigers fell behind big early and couldn't recover, losing to Whittier 61-42 at Rush Gym on Saturday.

Oxy played well in the second half, winning the 20 minutes 23-14.

Whittier jumped out in front with a 23-7 first quarter, shooting 50 percent while Oxy struggled, going just 2 for 17 from the field. Oxy's shooting woes didn't improve much in the second quarter when they went 5 for 16.

The Tigers fell behind 49-17 at halftime.

Maylene U. Hughes, who was coming off of the best scoring output in recent Oxy program history with 41 points at La Verne on Wednesday night, shot 2 for 11 from the field for five points, to go along with seven rebounds and five assists. 

Teani White led Whittier with 16 points and 11 rebounds, Daisy Cardenas had 11 points and seven rebounds, and Cali Cubel had 10 points and four assists.

Season Impact: Oxy falls to 6-10 overall and 1-6 in SCIAC play.

Whittier improves to 12-6 and 6-2.

Next Game: The Tigers are back in action at home on Wednesday night, playing Claremont-Mudd-Scripps to complete Round 1 of SCIAC play. Oxy finishes its three-game home stand and starts Round 2 of conference play against Caltech at Rush Gym on Jan. 25.