The University of La Verne women's basketball team has earned a spot in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Postseason Tournament as the #4 seed and will face #1 seed Occidental College in the semifinal round Friday at 5:00 pm at Rush Gymnasium in Eagle Rock. In the other semifinal, the #2 seed University of Redlands hosts #3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. The two winners of Friday's games will square off for the tourney title on the floor of the highest remaining seed.
ROAD TO POSTSEASON: Occidental (17-8, 12-2 SCIAC) clinched the SCIAC Championship for their fourth consecutive league title. As a result, The Tigers will be the top seed in the tournament. Oxy is currently riding a six-game win streak. La Verne (12-13, 9-5 SCIAC) closed the regular season by winning its final three games in conference play, including a thrilling 78-77 overtime triumph over Redlands to earn the final spot in the tournament.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: For La Verne, senior forward Emily Carrillo has led the team in scoring in eight of the last nine games, including a 29-point effort in Tuesday's win over Redlands. Sophomore guard Amanda Copas is averaging 9.7 points per game and led the team in assists. Senior guard Ashley Paul is the top outside shooting threat for the Leos with a team-high 46 treys on the season. Occidental is led by the trio of freshman guard Makenzie Brandon, senior guard Laura Mohler and senior forward Stephanie Babij. Brandon led the team in scoring averaging 13.2 points per game. Mohler averages 10.3 per contest while Babij, who scored her 1,000th career point earlier this season, led the SCIAC in minutes played.
HEAD TO HEAD: Occidental claimed both regular season contests against La Verne, prevailing 72-67 in overtime in the first meeting in Eagle Rock on January 13. In that game, the Tigers erased a 14-point first-half deficit and were led by Brandon's 18 points and Babij's 13 rebounds. Oxy topped the Leos 78-69 on February 10 in La Verne as the Tigers shot 58.3% from the field in the second half to overcome a three-point deficit at intermission. Carrillo paced the Leopards in that game with 24 points.
ADMISSION: Admission will be $5.00 and gates open one hour prior to scheduled tip-off at 5:00 p.m. in Rush Gymnasium. Admission is free to fans with a student, faculty or staff ID from a SCIAC member institution in addition to children 12 years of age or younger.
