LOS ANGELES -- Alana Keating (Leominster, MA) was a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor to spearhead a 29-point WPI third quarter as the Engineers rallied from a 36-33 halftime deficit to defeat host Occidental 80-61 during the opener Sunday after of the Crimson and Gray's two-game California trip.
A pair of 3-pointers from Alex Scariati (Scotch Plains, NJ) and McKenna Finken (Simsbury, CT) early in the second half gave WPI an advantage at 43-40 they would not relinquish the rest of the way. The Engineers' lead however fluctuated between one and three points for the next five minutes until Keating traditional 3-point play and a Melanie Presseau (Manchester, NH) trifecta began a 13-3 spurt to close out the period and push advantage into double figures the rest of the way.
Keating and senior classmate Spencer Vinson (Los Angeles, CA) who was playing a collegiate contest in her hometown for the first time led WPI with 14 points apiece. Presseau help the Crimson and Gray enjoy a 33-19 edge in bench scoring with 11 points while Emily Raynowska (Brentwood, NH), Bailey Savage (Charlton, MA) and Finken all finished with eight points.
Maddie Blake (Bedford, NH) gobbled up a game-high nine rebounds to along with seven points and Vinson pulled down eight boards and swatted three blocks. As a team, WPI held a 46-32 bulge on the glass and held a 20-5 edge in second chance points and a 36-18 advantage in points in the paint.
Occidental's Taylor Yoshida (Montebello, CA) tossed in a game-best 24 points and chipped in with six rebounds. Madison Toy (San Francisco, CA) connected on four 3-pointers off the bench for 12 points and Maylene Hughes (Sacramento, CA) stuffed the stat sheets for the Tigers with eight points, seven assists, four steals and four rebounds.
WPI (6-4) is right back at it on Monday, closing out its two-game California swing with a 5pm eastern tipoff at Cal Tech in Pasadena. Occidental (5-5) is also in action tomorrow, hosting La Sierra at 6:30pm in the second contest of a four-game homestand.