Occidental takes Game Two in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS, NV. (Dec. 20, 2008) – The Tigers regrouped after their day one loss in the Las Vegas Hoopla Tournament to post a convincing 78-68 victory over Virginia Wesleyan on the final day.  Scoring at will throughout most of the first half, Occidental blew open the game with a 26-8 run in the opening period and never were threatened again. 

The game was close in the opening moments, as Virginia Wesleyan held a slim one point lead at the 14:34 mark.  But a long three from senior Brianne Brown gave the Tigers the lead, and then back to back steals by junior Dior Williams and junior Gillian Nugent rattled the Marlins and allowed Oxy to go a huge run.  With 2:45 left in the period, the Tigers held a dominating 30-13 lead. 

Halftime did not slow the Tigers, who came out on aggressive in the second half and drove hard to the rim, which resulted in 24 trips to the charity strip.  Where they converted 21 of those opportunities, and with 6:12 left in the game, the lead had ballooned to 26.  But Virginia Wesleyan would not go down quietly, putting together a run of their own late in the game, but were to far behind to threaten the Tigers.

Oxy had five players break double digits.  Sophomore Stephanie Babij pulled down six rebounds to go along with 10 points, Williams scored 11 points, Brown notched a double double with 12 rebounds and a team high 15 points, senior Asha Jordan also dropped 10 points, with Nugent pouring in 13 points in the victory.  The Marlins were led by Andrea Ushinski and Maggie Smith, who each scored 16 points respectively. 

The most glaring stat of the night was from the freethrow line, as the hustling Tigers were rewarded with 32 trips to the line, where they shot a blistering 81.3%.  Virginia Wesleyan only went to the line 11 times all night.  Plus Occidental dominated on the boards, with a 46-24 advantage. 

The Tigers (5-3) will be back in action on Monday, Dec. 29 at 7:00pm as they host UC Santa Cruz on Day One of the Tiger Panther Classic.