Little does a lot in win over Caltech

More news about: Occidental
By Sean Lee
Sports Information
 

LOS ANGELES — Liz Little (Littleton, Colo.) dished out career-high 10 assists, did not turn the ball over once, and notched her first double-double of the season as the Occidental College women's basketball team cruised to a 78-37 victory against Caltech on Thursday night at Rush Gymnasium.

Oxy (8-5, 4-1 SCIAC) started the game on a blistering 20-4 run and never looked back. Makenzie Brandon (Seattle, Wash.) and Elizabeth Messick (Reno, Nev.) combined for 18 points during the run, and Little contributed two points, two assists and a steal during the stretch.

Rachel Hess' layup and jumper momentarily stopped the bleeding for the Beavers (1-13, 0-5 SCIAC), but the Tigers didn't let up. Two consecutive three pointers by Crystal Goodwin (Inglewood) and Brandon's layup with 13:01 to go in the first half gave the Tigers their biggest lead of the period, 30-6.

The Tigers kept up the pressure in the second half.

Little hit a jumper three minutes into the half and the senior guard assisted the next six Oxy baskets to fuel a 14-2 run. She found Katelyn Rowe (Carlsbad) and Annika Awbrey (Saratoga) for two easy layups apiece, and set up Messick and Goodwin for open jumpers. Awbrey recorded 10 points, six rebounds, two steals and a block in the second half alone.

"I have really good teammates and we play well together," Little said. "I'm lucky to have such good teammates—they made me look good."

Little finished with 10 points, 10 assists and a steal on the night.

Rowe scored four points and hauled in nine rebounds off the bench for the Tigers. Brandon and Messick scored 15 and 17, respectively, all in the first half.

Oxy travels to Claremont to face Pomona-Pitzer at 5 p.m. on Saturday.