Photo by Scott Burkhalter
Abilene, TX— After having won the SCIAC Postseason Tournament Championship, Occidental women's basketball team earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers matched up with the Hardin-Simmons Cowgirls in the first round. 

Hardin-Simmons comes into the game earning the No. 1 seed in Region X after an impressive season with a record of 24-3 and a conference record of 14-2. Oxy would be looking to continue their recent success on the road and break the Cowgirls 12 game winning streak entering the game. 

The Cowgirls got on the board first with a layup despite great defense being played by Gabriela Etopio on the play. Hardin-Simmons would use a strong start to create a 9-0 lead but Oxy would get on the board when Ainsley Shelsta scored a layup to make it 9-2.

Toni Thompson would knock down a 3-pointer from straightaway to cut into the Cowgirl lead and make it 12-5 with 5:59 left in the 1st quarter. Shelsta would then make another layup after Hardin-Simmons went 1-2 from the line. Oxy was within 5 points of the lead after Dominique Cabading knocked down a free throw.

The Cowgirls used a 6-0 run to extend their lead to 19-8, but Oxy was ready to put runs of their own together as Paige Yasukochi and Shelsta both made layups and it was 21-12 at the end of one quarter of play. 

Oxy started the 2nd quarter strong with a layup from Yasukochi but Hardin-Simmons responded by knocking down a 3-pointer. Gabriela Etopio scored a layup for the Tigers that cut into the lead and made it 27-16 Cowgirls. 

Michelle Lagunas-Monroy made a layup that put Oxy within 8 points of the lead and then Dara Tokeshi cashed in on a 3-pointer to get the score to 29-22 HSU. Hardin-Simmons would close the half on a 7-2 run to take a 36-24 lead into halftime. 

Oxy scored first in the 2nd half when Ainsley Shelsta found Gabrieal Etopio deep in the paint for a layup to get the lead to 10 points. After Hardin-Simmons made a 3-pointer, Cabading found Shelsta with a lob pass into the paint and Shelsta made the layup. After a turnover, Toni Thompson made a nice layup to get the lead into single digits. 

The Cowgirls got hot on offense and finished the quarter on a 17-6 run to take a 56-36 lead after 3 quarters of play. Oxy put together a 8-0 run late in the 4th quarter that cut into the HSU lead to make it 62-45. Oxy's strong play in the 4th quarter was highlighted by First year Nicole Vanegas knocking down a 3-pointer late in the game. The Tigers outscored the Cowgirls in the 4th quarter 17-9, but HSU would go on to win by a score of 65-53. 

Ainsley Shelsta had a big game for Oxy, scoring 14 points and grabbing 19 rebounds. Toni Thompson scored 14 points and had 7 rebounds, while Dominique Cabading led Oxy with 3 assists. 

Despite the loss, the Tigers had a historic season as they made the NCAA Tournament by winning the SCIAC Championship for the first time since 2011. Toni Thompson also ended her impressive Oxy career by tallying over 1,000 points and winning the SCIAC Tournament MVP award by setting a new single-tournament record by scoring 55 points in the two games.