LOS ANGELES — The pen was not stronger than the claws on Saturday night at Rush Gymnasium, as the Occidental College women's basketball team roared to a 76-43 victory over the Whittier Poets. All 14 suited Tigers got into the scoring column and Occidental outscored Whittier 41-9 off the bench and 42-10 in the paint.
Makenzie Brandon (Seattle) led the Tigers with 15 points, finishing two rebounds shy of a double-double. Elizabeth Messick (Reno, Nev.), who entered the contest fourth in the nation averaging 3.85 blocked shots per game, flirted with a triple-double for the third time on the season with 10 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks.
"I'm just trying to play for my team and do what they need me to do," Messick said. "It was a good win tonight because everyone got to play and it really showed our depth and what we can really do when we come out strong."
Messick's stops comprised more than half of the Tigers' 12 blocks and boosted the team average of 7.2 to third best nationally.
Liz Little (Littleton, Colo.) knocked down a key three pointer with 7:41 left in the first half, putting the Tigers up 16-11 and shifting the momentum dramatically. Little finished with six points and three assists.
"It felt good. I think we had a slow start so it was nice to get going and hit a shot, Little said. "It was nice to get some emotion when we were slow from the beginning."
The Tigers (10-5, 6-1 SCIAC) got up to a 37-19 lead after the first half and never looked back, limiting the Poets to a 21.8 percent field goal percentage. The Tigers came into the game tenth in the nation for team field goal defense, holding opponents to an average of just 30.8 percent.
"It was a nice team victory and everyone contributed so we're happy about that," Occidental head coach Anahit Aladzhanyan said after the game. "We have our own goals in every game so that keeps us focused and we were able to accomplish that today."
Annika Awbrey (Saratoga) led the charge off the bench for the Tigers, scoring eight points and grabbing five boards in just nine minutes of playtime. Katelyn Rowe (Carlsbad) added seven points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Crystal Goodwin (Inglewood) and Drew Van Vleck (Ashland, Ore.) added five points each.
Oxy forced 26 turnovers on the evening, earning 17 steals and 23 points off of turnovers. They also outrebounded the Poets 53-38, allowing the black and orange to push the tempo with 14 fast break and 11 second chance points.
Whittier guard Casceal Swaggard recorded a double-double with a game-high 19 points to complement 12 rebounds.
The Tigers have now won four out of the last five games and host UC Santa Cruz Sunday at 1 p.m. The team will see SCIAC action again when it travels to the La Verne on Jan. 24.