Boxscore

In a showdown between two teams fighting for a berth in postseason play, the University of La Verne used a late surge in the final minutes to power past Occidental College in notching a 90-80 triumph in SCIAC women's basketball action Thursday night in Eagle Rock.

Leading by a point with 2:10 to play, the Leopards closed out in strong fashion by outscoring the Tigers 13-4 down the stretch to secure victory.

The result gives the Leopards the inside track for the fourth and final spot for the SCIAC Postseason Tournament as they improved to 13-10 overall and 10-4 in conference play with two games remaining.

Though the matchup wasn't as frenzied as the first meeting which produced a combined 220 points, there was plenty of high octane moments that produced a reversal of fortune.

Occidental forward Katelyn Rowe connected on a layup to pull the Tigers within a point at 77-76. The Leopards countered as Shannon Irwin threw past Oxy's pressure defense to hit Megan Musashi for a layup to go up three at 79-76 with 2:06 to play.

Musashi added a pair of free throws for a five-point Leopard advantage.  After Oxy's Marquisha Corley scored from inside, Amanda Copas was on the receiving end of yet another full-court pass on the ensuing inbounds that led to second straight layup and a 83-78 lead.

The Tigers (14-9, 9-5) failed to score on their next trip, and on the next Leopard possession Musashi delivered a knockout blow by burying a wide-open three-pointer to give the Leos an 86-78 lead with 54 seconds remaining on their way to victory.

The Leopards held a 43-40 halftime lead, but the Tigers surged in the opening minutes of the second stanza.  La Verne led 46-42 before Oxy went on an 18-7 run to grab a 60-53 advantage on a Makenzie Brandon layup with 14:24 play.  The Tigers would lead by as many as eight points on another layup from Brandon for a 64-56 cushion with 12:27 to play.

A run of 13-4 by the Leopards was capped by a layup from Brittni Tapia  to allow La Verne to reclaim the lead at 69-68 with 8:44 remaining.  The Leos trailed 72-69 before a trey from Musashi knotted the contest at 72 with 7:34 left.  La Verne took the lead for good on a pair of Murakami free throws to go up 74-72.

La Verne excelled from the free throw line, connecting on 23 of its 29 attempts.  The Leopards also controlled the boards by outrebounding the Tigers 54-43.

Tyne McClure enjoyed a career high 29 points, connecting on 11 of her 14 attempts while also adding 12 rebounds to tally a double-double.  Copas finished with 17 points with Lindsey Foster totaling 11 points.

Brandon paced the Tigers with a game-high 33 points in addition to grabbing 11 rebounds in the defeat.

The Leopards have their final two regular season games at home, and victories in both contests will lock up a berth in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament. 

La Verne will play host to SCIAC leader Cal Lutheran Saturday in a 5:00 pm tip-off.