Ready to Repeat

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Nov. 20, 2008) – Under new leadership in Heidi VanDerveer, many similar faces will take the court in 2008-09 for the women’s basketball team who will aim to repeat as Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champions. The core of players are returning from a squad claimed that its first title since 1980 and produced the SCIAC Player of the Year.

Brianne Brown, who also earned West Region Player of the Year recognition from d3basketball.com, will again lead the pack as she returns for her senior campaign after leaving a mark on the conference last year. Averaging 15.4 points per game with 8.0 rebounds per game she also led the team with 76 steals and 26 blocks, adding 70 assists.

Also returning with a year of collegiate experience under her belt is sophomore Stephanie Babij who garnered First Team All-SCIAC Recognition last season. She finished with 10.6 points per game and 7.6 rebounds per game as she shot 55.7% from the field adding 31 assists, 30 steals and 22 blocks.

Back on the court for another season are the junior trio of Britinee Yasukochi (94 assists, 29 steals, 73 rebounds), Brittany Mally (10 blocks, 55 rebounds, 41.7 FG%) and Gillian Nugent (32.8 FG%) who also played key roles down the stretch for the Tigers last season.

Following an injury at the start of the 2007-08 season, junior Dior Williams, will surely make an impact as well. Oxy welcomes three freshmen to the 2008-09 squad.

The Tigers compiled the most wins in a single season in the history of Occidental women’s basketball a year ago with a 21-6 record, claiming the conference championship with a 12-2 mark.

Occidental will open the season on Friday, Nov. 21 when they host day one of the Tip-Off Classic. They will meet La Sierra at 3:00 p.m. before Caltech faces off with UC Santa Cruz at 5:00 p.m. in the recently renovated Rush Gymnasium.