The University of La Verne took Occidental College to overtime before eventually falling 72-67 to the Tigers in SCIAC women's basketball action Thursday night in Eagle Rock.
The Leopards led most of the game until the Tigers took the lead with under three minutes left in regulation. The game was tied at 59 entering the final minute of play before Oxy's Makenzie Brandon hit two free throws to give her team a 61-59 lead with 12 seconds remaining.
Amanda Copas forced the extra session with a pair of free throws of her own with one second left to tie the contest at 61-61.
In overtime, the Leopards grabbed a 64-63 advantage on a three-pointer from Ashley Paul, but the Tigers countered on a jumper from Brandon to reclaim the lead at 65-64 at the 3:47 mark. Brandon added a field goal and a free throw to give Oxy a 68-64 advantage. The Leos were held without a field goal during the final 4:09 in overtime.
La Verne (4-8, 1-1 SCIAC) enjoyed a hot start, grabbing an early 10-2 lead in the first three minutes of action. The Leopards continued their strong play and eventually opened a 22-8 cushion on a three-pointer from Copas at the 9:57 mark of the first half.
Occidental (7-6, 2-0 SCIAC) battled back thanks to a 19-5 scoring run to pull within four points at 27-23 with 4:49 remaining. The Tigers got within two points before the Leopards went into intermission with a 34-30 advantage.
The Leopards continued to hold the lead on the Tigers in the second stanza and led by eight points at 48-40 on a Mayra Duenas layup and free throw with 11:02 left in regulation. La Verne held a 56-52 lead before Oxy's Stephanie Scannon registered five straight points on a three-pointer followed by two free throws to give the Tigers its first lead since 2-0 in the first half.
The Tigers were bolstered by making 19 of 23 free throw attempts (82.6%) compared to 12 of 19 (63.2%) for La Verne. Oxy also finished with a 44-36 edge in rebounding.
La Verne had three players register double figures in scoring, led by Copas with 17 points. Mayra Duenas followed with 14 points while Emily Carrillo added 10 points. Stephanie Shepard recorded a team-high 11 rebounds for the Leos.
Brandon tallied a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers while teammate Stephanie Babij finished a point shy of a double-double with a game-high 13 rebounds to go along with 9 points.
La Verne continues league action on Saturday as it returns to Frantz Athletic Court to host Caltech in a 5:00 pm tip-off.
