WHITTIER — Elizabeth Messick and Brittni Walker each recorded double-doubles to lead the Occidental College women's basketball team to its first SCIAC victory of the season in a 64-53 win over Whittier on Thursday.

Oxy improves to 1-3 in conference play and 8-5 overall. Whittier remains winless at 0-12 and 0-4.

Messick had a game-high 18 points and 12 rebounds. Walker added 10 points and 10 boards. Point guards Tiffany Kho and Crystal Goodwin each had nine points.

"It's not easy to win on the road and I happy with the way we competed against a scrappy Whittier team tonight," Oxy head coach Anahit Aladzhanyan said. "We need to build off the things we did well and continue to get better."

Oxy fell behind 19-12 before rallying to finish the first half on a 17-6 run to take a 29-25 lead into the break.

The Poets came out sharp in the second, putting together a 14-4 stretch that put them up 40-36 with 11:30 left to play.

But with 7:50 remaining in the second half, Goodwin broke open a one-point game with a 3-pointer that put Oxy up 47-43. Brittni Walker followed it up with a bucket and Oxy was able to hold at least a six-point lead for the rest of the game.

Margo Campos led Whittier with 18 points and Danielle Hays chipped in 12.

The Tigers return to action this Saturday against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 7 p.m. at Rush Gymnasium on Saturday.