Boxscore

An historic scoring effort from Occidental senior Makenzie Brandon along with a cold second half shooting effort thwarted the University of La Verne  to lead the Tigers past the Leopards in a 115-105 final in SCIAC women's basketball action Thursday night at Frantz Athletic Court.

Brandon posted school and personal best of 54 points to pace Occidental to victory.  She tallied 28 in the first half and added 26 in the second frame as the Tigers opened a double-digit lead and would eventually hold off the Leopards' comeback effort.

Occidental started strong, scoring the game's first 12 points and led 21-9 after five minutes of action.  La Verne began to gain momentum and used a 10-0 to tie the contest at 27 at the midway point of the half.  The Leopards controlled the latter stages of the second half and would lead by as many as nine points at 66-57 with a minute before the break.

La Verne held a 66-63 lead at the half, only to watch the Tigers seize control from the opening stages of the second stanza. The Tigers took advantage of a cold shooting streak by the Leopards and would open a double-digit lead with 12 minutes to play.  Oxy would lead by as many as 22 points, but he Leos battled back and began to slice into the Tiger lead.  La Verne would rally to within seven points in the final minutes but failed to nudge closer as the Tigers held on for the win.

Occidental made 20 of its 30 (66.7%) field goal attempts after intermission.  Conversely, the Leopards shot just 25.5% (12-47) from the field in the second half.

Brandon finished 23-30 from the field and connected on 8 of 9 free throw attempts and pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds.  Marquisha Corley (15) and Michelle Naito-Lo (10) were the only other Oxy players to reach double figures in scoring.

Lindsey Foster finished with a team high 20 points and was one of three Leopards in double figures. Megan Musashi added 18 points while Amanda Copas posted 17 points. 

With the defeat, the Leopards dropped to 10-7 overall and 7-2 in conference play.  Occidental improved to 12-5 overall and 7-1 in league play.

The Leopards return to hardwood this Saturday as it plays host to UC Santa Cruz in non-conference action.  Tip off is scheduled for 1:00 pm.