Women's Basketball Struggles Against Oxy
By Joe Gill
Staff Writer

High hopes of avenging a first round loss to Occidental were quickly knocked flat as the Pomona-Pitzer women's basketball team fell to the Tigers on Tuesday. A slow start, an inability to sink open shots, and poor fast break defense were the three biggest problems in a disappointing 53-30 home defeat. The league loss dropped the Sagehens to 2-7 in SCIAC, and 3-15 overall.

From the tip-off, the Tigers dominated play. The Sagehens were repeatedly caught on their heels as Occidental capitalized on transition points and turnovers. Defensively, the Tigers played a box-and-one formation, allowing for tight man coverage on Pomona-Pitzer's leading scorer Tamara Zakim '03. This seemed to shut down Pomona-Pitzer's inside game, forcing difficult outside shots. With 6:20 left in the first period, Occidental led 24-5.

Only in the final minutes of first half play did Pomona-Pitzer finally challenge Occidental's dominance. With comeback on their minds, the Sagehens generated an 11-5 run led by the rebounding of Lindsay Hill '04 and three consecutive baskets by Zakim. The Tiger's lead was cut to 13 and with a halftime score of 29-16, head coach Kathleen Connell took her players into the locker room to discuss strategy.

The Sagehens started the second half with a bang, having refocused their energy on fundamentals during their half-time talk. "I told them that if we focused on three things, transition defense, rebounding and running the offense, we could set the pace of the second half," commented Connell. The Hens shut down the Tiger fast break and began chipping away at the Oxy lead. On a clutch three-point basket by Autumn Niibu '04, Pomona-Pitzer closed the gap to just eight points with 16:08 left in the game.

Unfortunately, this was the closest the Sagehens would come for the rest of night. Occidental responded to Pomona-Pitzer's charge with a run of their own. For the next 12 minutes, the Tigers regained control of the game with a flurry of threes and strong rebounding. Tiger captain Alexandra Lamprell demonstrated ferocious tenacity on the boards, pulling down a game high 17.

Pomona-Pitzer's lack of substitutes increasingly became a problem as the clock continued to run. Occidental out-hustled Pomona-Pitzer to the ball and without fresh legs on the bench, the Sagehens were unable to spark another comeback. With 4:12 left in the game, Occidental was up 47-26, a practically insurmountable deficit.

Lindsay White and Emily Van Houweling led the Oxy effort with 15 points each for the night. Pomona-Pitzer was held to an alarmingly low 20 percent from the floor. Zakim, the only scorer in double digits, was held to 10 points and 8 rebounds. Hill contributed with an impressive 13 boards, in addition to her 6 points. Niibu also chipped in with 6 points.

"Clearly our shooting percentage was a major factor out there tonight," remarked Connell. "There was a lid on the basket; a lot of shots rattled in and out of the rim. Every team has an off-shooting night. It's just a disappointment that we couldn't capitalize on our opportunities."

The Sagehens continue to struggle with the reality of their small roster. In recent games, Pomona-Pitzer has grown accustomed to playing with only six or seven members. Hill, a leading offensive and defensive player, has only just returned from an illness that kept her sidelined for three games. Several other players have been battling injury and sickness.

Nevertheless, the Hens continue to maintain a positive outlook on the remainder of their season. "It's discouraging to lose, especially considering how hard this team works day in and day out," said Zakim. "But the way we see it is, even though we can't win conference, we still have the power to determine who does." Currently, four SCIAC teams are tied for first with 7-2 records; of the four, La Verne, CMS and Whittier have yet to face the Hens in round two of conference play.

Losing record aside, the Hens look forward to a strong conference finish. Looking ahead, the Sagehens hope to secure a win in their away game tonight against Cal Lutheran. Pomona-Pitzer previously beat the Regals by a score of 67-53 at home in January. On Tuesday, the Sagehens play Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at home. During the first week of the semester, Pomona-Pitzer suffered defeat in a thrilling overtime game against the Athenas in a packed Claremont gymnasium. Revenge will no doubt be on the team's mind in the upcoming cross-campus rivalry matchup.