WBB: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[80sshorts]

GFU vs. Chapman will be an excellent matchup to keep your eyes on.  Gordon and the rest of the Bruins Freshmen are the real deal, and basically all the returnees from Chapman are coming to Oregon ready to get revenge for their first round loss to them in the Tournament last spring.  It should be a relatively even matchup that's going to come down to defense

[OxyBob]

Oxy (3-2) beat the College of St. Elizabeth (7-5), 61-41, in the first round of the Tiger-Poet Classic at Oxy. For Oxy, Stephanie Babij had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Gillian Nugent and Dior Williams each scored 10. I only wish I'd been there to hear the Oxy PA announcer deal with the St. Elizabeth roster, which includes Geanna Bonavitacola, Sarah Kozlowski, Melinda Levendusky, Anastasia Feola, Sabrina Jarmolinski, head coach Tony Bonavitacola, and assistant coach Nina Oshiokpekhai.

In the other first round game, Whittier (2-4) beat Pacific (3-3), 65-56. For the Poets, Morgan Sabala had 13 points on 13-for-14 from the foul line, Kourtney Zilbert had 13, and Tina Merlino scored 10.

The tournament wraps up tonight at Oxy. Whittier faces St. Elizabeth at 5:00 p.m., and Oxy plays Pacific at 7:00 p.m.

OxyBob

[OxyBob]

Eyewitness report from Eagle Rock:

Oxy 66, Pacific 55

The Tigers pulled away in the second half and defeated the Boxers on the second day of the Tiger-Poet Classic at Oxy. Pacific came out blazing hot and took a 21-10 lead at 12:30, but Oxy went on a 22-10 run and took its first lead with 1:30 to go in the half. Tied 35-all to start the second half, the Tigers outscored the Boxers 23-10 and led 58-45 with 8:40 to go. Pacific got no closer than 9 the rest of the way. For Oxy, Stephanie Babij played a strong game in the post with 15 points and 9 rebounds, Dior Williams also scored 15, and Gillian Nugent had 18 on 7-for-10 FGs (4-for-6 3s). Pacific got great guard play from Rochelle Reeves, who scored 19, and Julianne Erbe scored 14. Overall a solid win for the Tigers. Oxy is 4-2; Pacific dropped to 1-6.

In the early game, Whittier (3-4) beat St. Elizabeth (7-6), 70-56. For Whittier, Kourtney Zilbert had 13 points and 10 rebounds, Tina Merlino scored 12, and Melissa Johnson had 10. For St. Elizabeth, Jessica Dixon scored 21, and Sara Kozlowski had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Oxy will be back in action this weekend at the Las Vegas Hoopla Tournament. On Friday Oxy plays Bridgewater College at 10:00 a.m., and on Saturday the Tigers face Virginia Wesleyan, also at 10:00 a.m.

OxyBob

[Browneagle64]

That's a sweet looking Logo that the Tiger-Poet classic is sporting this year. I bet it looks great on their complementary t-shirts. 

[OxyBob]

First night of the Tiger-Panther Classic at Oxy...

Oxy 54, UC Santa Cruz 44

Oxy: Stephanie Babij 18 pts, 8 rebs, Madeline Rose 6 pts, 10 rebs, 4 assists
UCSC: Melissa Junge 15

Halftime: Oxy 34-19
Rebounds: Oxy 39-26
Records: Oxy 6-3, UCSC 4-9

In the first half Oxy led 23-17 at 11:50. The Tigers outscored the Banana Slugs 11-2 to end the first half, scored the first 6 points of the second half, led 40-19, and cruised home with a win.

Earlier in the evening, Chapman defeated Bethel, 58-45. CU: Lauren Kamiyama scored 15, and Andrijana Kerkez had 10 pts and 8 rebs for the Panthers. BU: Autumn Beasley had 16 pts and 6 rebs, and Annegret Nautsch had a game high 13 rebs for the Royals.

Tonight Chapman (8-6) plays UCSC (4-9) at 5:00 p.m., followed by Oxy (6-3) vs. Bethel (3-3) at 7:00 p.m.

OxyBob

[OxyBob]

Big night in the SCIAC. Oxy, Whittier, Redlands and La Verne are all tied for first at 3-1. After tonight it'll only be a two-way tie:

La Verne (11-3, 3-1) @ Redlands (10-4, 3-1)
Whittier (11-4, 3-1) @ Oxy (11-4, 3-1)
Claremont (9-6, 2-2) @ Pomona (5-9, 1-3)
Cal Lutheran (3-12, 1-3) @ Caltech (3-12, 0-4)

OxyBob

[OxyBob]

Big night in the SCIAC. Oxy, Whittier, Redlands and La Verne are all tied for first at 3-1. After tonight it'll only be a two-way tie

Oxy and La Verne emerged victorious over Whittier and Redlands, and the Tigers and Leopards sit atop the SCIAC standings with 5-1 records. Last night Oxy routed Caltech 81-37. Dior Williams scored 19, Brianne Brown had 12, and Stephanie Babij and Zoe Walsh each had 10. The Tigers have won 5 straight and 9 of their last 10. Meanwhile, La Verne defeated Claremont 69-57. The Leopards were led by Emily Carrillo with 19, Ashley Paul had 14 and Tedra Clark scored 12.

Game of the Week: Oxy (13-4, 5-1) @ La Verne (13-3, 5-1) this Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Super Tents.

OxyBob

[OxyBob]

Item in today's Pasadena Star-News:

BIG GAME WEEK

This is a big week for the Citrus College men and the University of La Verne women, who will play for first place in their respective basketball conferences.

The Owls (20-4, 4-1), ranked No. 2 in the state, host Bakersfield for the top spot in the Western State Conference South Division at 5 p.m. on Wednesday. The Renegades (19-6, 4-1) are ranked No. 10 in the state.

The Leopards get their turn one night later in hosting Occidental at 7:30 on Thursday for first place in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

La Verne, which scored wins over Redlands and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps last week, is 13-3 and 5-1. Occidental is 13-4 and 5-1.

OxyBob

[OxyBob]

Feb. 5 score:

Oxy 59, Cal Lutheran 34

Oxy: Brianne Brown 19, Dior Williams 9, Stephanie Babij 5 pts and 12 rebs
CLU: Kourtney Jones 8, Nita Sims 8
Halftime: Oxy 26-16
Rebounds: Oxy 39-28

Cal Lutheran scored the first 5 points of the second half to cut Oxy's 10-point halftime lead to 26-21, but Oxy went on a 17-5 run, led 43-26 at 8:20, and cruised home with the victory. With the win Oxy moved into a first place conference tie with La Verne, which lost to Whittier 74-71.

SCIAC standings:

Oxy 7-2
La Verne 7-2
Redlands 6-3
Whittier 6-3
Claremont 5-4
Cal Lutheran 3-6
Pomona 2-7
Caltech 0-9

This Saturday's schedule, all games 5:00 p.m.:

Whittier (14-6, 6-3) @ Redlands (14-6, 6-3)
Pomona (6-13, 2-7) @ Oxy (15-5, 7-2)
Claremont (12-8, 5-4) @ Cal Lutheran (5-15, 3-6)
La Verne (15-4, 7-2) @ Caltech (3-17, 0-9)

OxyBob

[OxyBob]

SCIAC women's basketball item from the San Bernardino Sun:

TRIO IN SCIAC TITLE CHASE

The SCIAC battle is coming down to the wire with three teams fighting for first on the women's side and a definite possibility of a three-way tie.

Defending champion Occidental (18-5, 10-2) is up by one game over the University of La Verne (17-5, 9-3) and the University of Redlands (17-6, 9-3).

The schedule favors the Bulldogs who have games left with Cal Lutheran (7-16, 5-7) and Caltech (3-20, 0-12). The Leopards and Tigers also have a head-to-head battle with Oxy also having Caltech and La Verne also facing Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

Occidental appears to have the advantage in the head-to-head battle because it has won nine of its past 10 and La Verne has been beset by injuries to starters Trenecca Jones (concussion), Mayra Duenas (broken foot) and Tedra Clark (ankle).

Redlands picked up some steam with a win Saturday over La Verne but its leading scorer Courtney Carroll went down with a sprained ankle.

OxyBob

[OxyBob]

Eyewitness report from Eagle Rock:

Oxy 57, La Verne 54

Congratulations to Oxy! The Tigers beat La Verne and won their second consecutive SCIAC championship.

The game was a tight battle throughout the first half with 7 lead changes and 4 ties. Emily Carrillo's 3-point play gave the Leopards a 26-24 halftime lead. In the second half, the game was tied 45-45 with 8 minutes left when Oxy went on an 11-0 run and took a 56-45 lead at 3:30, but La Verne wasn't about to give up without a fight. The Leopards scored 9 straight, and Trenneca Jones' 3-ball cut Oxy's lead to 56-54 with 50 seconds to go. Asha Jordan missed a jumper for Oxy, and La Verne had the ball out of bounds with 8 seconds left and a chance to tie or win it. Carrillo got off a good shot but missed, and she had to foul Brianne Brown, who hit one of two FTs with a second left for the final margin of victory.

For Oxy, Brianne Brown scored 19 and had 6 rebounds, and Stephanie Babij had 13 and 6 rebounds. For La Verne, Trenneca Jones led all scorers with 22, Emily Carrillo scored 11 and had 10 rebounds, and Ashley Paul tossed in 10 points and grabbed 6 rebounds.

With the win, Oxy (20-5, 12-2) is the No. 1 seed in the SCIAC tournament, and will host No. 4 Whittier (16-9, 8-6) on Thursday, while La Verne (18-6, 10-4) drops to No. 3 and will play at No. 2 Redlands (19-6, 11-3). The winners of those games will play on Saturday at the highest remaining seed, with the victor getting the SCIAC AQ to the NCAA tournament.

OxyBob

[Howlinwolf]

Thanks, OB, for the in-person report.

Props to Oxy's Gillian Nugent, whose timely three-pointers were crucial in securing the victory.

Thursday night's playoff game at Rush begins at 7:30 pm. Support SCIAC women's basketball!

[OxyBob]

Props to Oxy's Gillian Nugent, whose timely three-pointers were crucial in securing the victory.

I was remiss to not mention Nugent. She was clutch, particularly the 3-ball fall away in front of the Oxy bench which gave the Tigers a 9-point lead with 4:30 to go.

OxyBob

[OxyBob]

Props to Oxy's Gillian Nugent

Eyewitness report from Eagle Rock:

Oxy 79, Whittier 51

Props indeed to Gillian Nugent, who scored 16 second half points, including 4 straight 3-pointers, to lead No. 1 seed Oxy to a 79-51 win over No. 4 Whittier in the semifinals of the SCIAC tournament. On Saturday Oxy will host No. 3 La Verne, which beat No. 2 Redlands 50-48 in the other semifinal, for the SCIAC championship and the automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs.

In the first half, Nugent's 3-ball gave Oxy a 19-4 lead at 10:40, but WC's Ashley Vierra hit a 3-pointer at 6:30 and the Poets only trailed 25-17. That's when the Tigers went to work. A 3-pointer by Dior Williams followed by a steal and a layup by Brianne Brown put Oxy up 30-17. Brown hit another jumper and then made a basket and one and it was 35-17. Britinee Yasucochi's FT completed an 11-0 run, and the Tigers took a 36-19 lead at the half. Oxy's defense smothered Whittier and harassed the Poets into 20 turnovers in the first half.

In the second half, Oxy led 45-29 with a bit under 14 minutes left. It was 51-33 with under 8 minutes to go when Nugent put on a clinic and made 4 consecutive 3s in 2:20, and the Tigers led it by 26, 63-37. The Oxy reserves came in and finished up nicely. A dominating performance at both ends for Oxy. The Tigers have won 8 straight and 13 of their last 14.

For Oxy, Gillian Nugent led all scorers with 19 on 6-for-10 and 5-for-8 3s. Brianne Brown scored 15 and had 5 rebounds, Dior Williams had 10 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals, and Stephanie Babij scored 14. For Whittier, Kourtney Zilbert played an outstanding game with 17 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block, Ashley Vierra had 12, and Tina Merlino had 8 points and 5 assists.

Saturday's SCIAC championship game, tipoff at 5:00 p.m.:

La Verne (19-6) @ Oxy (21-5)

The teams split their two regular season meetings.

OxyBob

[OxyBob]

Eyewitness report from Eagle Rock:

SCIAC Tournament Final

Oxy 51, La Verne 37

Oxy: Stephanie Babij 16 pts and 9 rebs, Dior Williams 13 pts, 4 rebs, and 5 steals
ULV: Emily Carrillo 10 pts and 11 rebs, Clarissa Holz 10 pts and 7 rebs
Halftime: Oxy 21-14
Rebounds: Oxy 43-37

The game started slowly; Oxy was up only 9-6 at 12:00. After Clarissa Holz's jumper brought La Verne to 17-14, Dior Williams' jumper and a layup by Stephanie Babij gave the Tigers a 7-point halftime lead, 21-14. Neither team shot well in the first half. Oxy was 10-for-30 (33.3%) and was only 1-for-9 shooting 3s, and ULV only shot 27% on 7-for-26 and was 0-for-6 shooting 3s. Neither team shot a FT in the first half.

In the second half, Oxy led 28-20 at 16:15, but 3 straight layups by Madeline Rose, Brianne Brown and Stephanie Babij gave Oxy a 14-point lead at 34-20, and the Leopards got no closer than 8 the rest of the way. La Verne had a tough time keeping Babij from getting free underneath, and Dior Williams scrapped and clawed under the basket and played her usual tough in-your-face defense.

La Verne ends its season 19-8, while Oxy, now 22-5, gets the SCIAC AQ and a trip to the NCAA playoffs.

Congratulations to the Oxy Tigers, the 2008-2009 SCIAC champs!

OxyBob