Tigers Trample Southwestern Eagles

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Jan. 14, 2007) – Occidental College jumped out to a commanding 41-14 halftime lead over Southwestern College en route  to an 81-23 victory in the final non-conference game of the 2007-08 season tonight at Rush Gymnasium. 

Freshman Stephanie Babij played a stellar game, finishing one point shy of a double-double posting 14 rebounds and nine points, with a pair of steals, two blocks and an assist. In the first half alone, Babij tallied 11 boards.

Oxy’s offense was sparked once again by senior Stacie Roshon who poured in a game high 18 points. Joining Roshon in double figured was Asha Jordan who hit two from long range while going 2-for-2 from the charity stripe in 10 minutes off the bench.

With scoring spread out between 11 players, the Oxy reserves combined for 39 total points. Jennifer Wilhelm scored nine points and Caitlin Morgan added six in 10 and nine minutes, respectively. 

Britinee Yasukochi turned in a strong performance tonight with a game-high eight assists and seven rebounds. Brianne Brown also grabbed seven rebounds, also recording two blocks. Laura Mohler dished out six assists on the night.

The Tigers shot 45% from the field, in the first half and finished out with a 42.3 field goal percentage. After struggling from the line in the first half, the Tigers put together a 9-for-12 performance in the second period. 

Southwestern turned the ball over 26 times, while the Tigers lost possession just 12 times. Those 26 Eagle losses of possession resulted in 28 Occidental points. 

Southwestern’s Ashley Frank led the Eagles with 11 points. Teri Stevens had seven rebounds for the Eagles.

Associate Head Coach Avi Meyerson recorded his first collegiate coaching victory tonight. 

Oxy improves to 9-4 overall, with a 1-1 SCIAC mark. Southwestern falls to 3-10.

Occidental will be back in action on Thursday, Jan. 17 with their first home SCIAC game of the season when they host Caltech at Rush Gymnasium with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m.