Tigers Women's Basketball Benefitting from Tough Non-conference Schedule

After the Occidental women’s basketball team defeated Redlands, the Tigers arch rival for the past several years, on Friday night in a game played at Rush Gymnasium, Tigers coach Heidi VanDerveer was asked about her team’s tough non-conference schedule.

“Paying off,” she said. “Paying off, big time. (Assistant coach) Betsy (Butterick) and I were just talking about that.”

The Tigers 61-55 victory, during which Occidental outscored Redlands by seven in the second half after trailing by a point at halftime, meant Occidental (8-6, 3-0 in the SCIAC) has taken over sole possession of first place.

Occidental triumphed despite shooting 31.7 percent (19 of 60) from the floor, while Redlands shot 39.6 (21 of 53). The Tigers compensated by committing only six turnovers to Redlands' 13. The also got 22 points from their bench compared with 15 for the Bulldogs converted six more free throws in the second half.

“We knew coming in that (Redlands) would be a very competitive game, a battle,” VanDerveer said. “They’re very good. But we were very confident. We have tremendous depth and versatility and I think that we made plays down the stretch that we needed to make.”

The Tigers were led by sophomore Makenzie Brandon, who scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Sophomore Katelyn Rowe had nine points and six boards and senior Stephanie Babij added eight points and seven rebounds.

But key contributions also came from Stephanie Scamman, (11 points), freshman forward Elizabeth Messick (five points and five boards) and senior guard Laura Mohler (a season-high seven assists).

Babij, the reigning SCIAC Player of the Year, and Mohler are Occidental’s only two seniors. VanDerveer said her young team is well guided by the pair.

“They’re two great leaders,” she said.

The Tigers may have also benefited from Babij’s preseason injury Brandon's recent illness, which sidelined the emerging star for four games. Having its two top scorers and rebounders miss games gave Occidental's other players the chance to find their niche.

“And now people like Stephanie Scamman, who is really a freshman – she didn’t play last year because of concussions – Michelle Lo, Bitsy (Messick) and Katelyn Rowe: I think they’ve really improved. And (sophomore) Marquisha (Corley) is doing really well," VanDerveer.

But it was Mohler who the coach credits with keeping the team intact during Babij’s and Brandon’s absence.

“I think that Laura Mohler really held us together,” VanDerveer said. “Laura really is a great glue for our team. She’s invested (in the team). She understands competition and works as hard as anybody I’ve ever worked with.

“And (she) prepares,” VanDerveer added. “She understands what we’re doing.”

Playing without Brandon, the Tigers defeated Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 60-57, in the conference opener on Jan. 8. Mohler, playing all 40 minutes, led with 15 points, while Scamman had 13, and Lo and Rowe each scored 10.

Then on Jan. 13, Occidental defeated La Verne 72-67 as Scamman scored 12 second half points (14 overall) to help offset a four-point halftime Tiger deficit. Rowe scored 10 before intermission to keep the Tigers close.

“You learn a lot about your team,” said VanDerveer, regarding the closely contested wins. “The evolution of our team is fun to see.”