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Tigers Fend Off Last Second Attempt
After a two consecutive road matches, the Leopards hoped to snap
a three-game losing streak on Saturday night by hosting Occidental
College, but fell 62-58 to the Tigers at Frantz Athletic Court.
Despite shooting 30.8% (20-of-65) from the field, the Leopards
were able to keep themselves in the game by collecting 15 offensive
rebounds and forcing 12 turnovers. The Tigers shot an efficient
47.2% (25-53) on the night.
La Verne jumped out to a quick 7 point lead (14-7) after Ashley
Paul hit two jumpers and a three-pointer. However, Oxy found it's
rhythm and took the lead (26-24) on a Makenzie Brandon three
pointer with 4:39 left in the first half. After closing the period
on a 7-2 run, the Leopards trailed 32-31 at intermission.
The Tigers came out aggressive in the second half, building a
40-31 lead after a 8-0 run in the first three minutes. The Leopards
clawed back to within one after a Clarissa Holz drained a shot from
beyond the arc. The back-and-forth battle continued until Oxy found
themselves up six (59-53) with just under three minutes. Holz hit
another three-point shot late (60-58) to bring the deficit to
within a basket. La Verne had one final attempt to send the game
into overtime, but came up short, giving the Tigers the 62-58
victory.
Paul led the Leopards in scoring with 19 points while teammate
Amanda Copas added 14 points, 5 assists and 3 steals. Holz
finished the game with a 14-point 10-rebound double-double. Brandon
was Oxy's leading scorer with 20, while forward Stephanie Babij
tallied 16 points and pulled down 13 boards.
La Verne will end the first round of SCIAC play with a road match
against Caltech next Thursday night in Pasadena. The contest will
start at 7:30 pm.
Boxscore
