The University of La Verne's rally in the final minutes of play against Occidental College felt short as the Leopards suffered a 52-45 setback to the Tigers in the semifinal round of the SCIAC Women's Postseason Basketball Tournament at Rush Gymnasium.
The Leopards trailed Occidental 49-38 with less than two minutes remaining before reeling off seven unanswered points to pull within four at 49-45 with 29 seconds left. But the Leos couldn't edge closer as Oxy (18-8) made three more free throws to hold off the comeback attempt to advance to Saturday's tournament final against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
Down by 11, La Verne (12-14) got a three-pointer from Kelly Kika with 1:57 to play. A steal from Megan Musashi led to an Emily Carrillo jumper to cut the Oxy lead to 49-43 with 1:10 to play. Kika was fouled on the ensuing possession and made both free throws to get within four at 49-45.
Tiger forward Makenzie Brandon made one free throw and was followed by teammate Laura Mohler who hit a pair of free throws to hold off the Leopard rally.
La Verne led at halftime 28-24 and opened the second half with consecutive baskets as a Musashi three-pointer and a Mia Roseboro layup gave the Leos a 33-24 advantage with 18:46 left in regulation.
From there, the Leopards made just one field goal in a 12-minute span as Oxy went on an 18-3 run to take a 42-36 lead at the 6:25 mark. La Verne went 6-of-22 from the field in the second half.
Oxy also struggled on offense in the second half in making 8 of 23 attempts from the field (34.8%) but was aided by a 12-of-16 effort at the free throw line.
Michelle Lo came off the bench to lead Oxy in scoring with 15 points with Stephanie Babij added 13 points. Makenzie Brandon tallied a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds. For La Verne, Kelly Kika scored a game-high 17 points while Emily Carrillo posted 12 points in her final game. Musashi added 7 points and 6 rebounds.
