SCIAC Women's Basketball Tournament Champions!!!

I traveled to the land of the Tigers tonight to watch the championship game of the SCIAC Tournament. We were in uncharted territory. I'd never been to Oxy. Our lady Bulldogs had never won the tournament. Well now I can say I've been to Oxy and now we can say we're headed to the NCAA Div III Tournament! We won an overtime defense dominated game 55-54. Whew! Great game ladies! I have to put my paw out to everyone who stepped in the paint because it was particularly tough around the basket. Courtney was held to just 12 points on what looks like an uncharacteristic shooting percentage. But the stats won't show how many bruises she'll be sporting the next few days. And Meghan played through the pain of multiple encounters too. She limped away with nine boards, four points, four assists, and two steals. Thank goodness Mariah kept up her post season momentum and poured in a team high 18 points and gathered 14 rebounds. And Ali rained in 17 points from the outside to keep a balance in our attack. But it was defense, defense, defense that dominated the game and Mackenzie came up big with five blocked shots. It was this focus that allowed us to weather the two stretches in each half where we didn't score for nearly five minutes. I wasn't too worried. And when we found ourselves down by three with 12 seconds to go, who delivers? Tres Bueno! This means we have at least one more court this season to display our Bulldog spirit and pride. We find out Monday morning where we'll play. I just hope it's close so I can go again.

Bulldogs vs Regals 2

Wow! Did Thurber ever get to see a great game tonight. Our second seeded Bulldogs faced off against the third seeded Regals of Cal Lutheran and they came to play. The Regals strategy of pressure defense might have worked early in our season, but this is tournament time. Meghan, Mariah, and Allison beat the press with passing, precision, and poise. Once down around the paint, Courtney took care of business and poured in 19 points in the first half alone. MacKenzie played great too. But the game was still close at the half; 35-34. The Regals were not going away easy. During the second half our shooting touch went cold around the same time that the Regals did. That was fortunate. What didn't go cold was our free throw shooting. We hit 82 percent from the line. If ever there was a game to hit free throws it was tonight when we shot 28 percent from the field. It wasn't until just under one minute to play that Thurber and I knew the game was ours. Mariah in typical Bulldog fashion drove right through the Regal defense, hit her layup, was fouled, and made her free throw. That one play changed the course of the game and the Regals never recovered. We won 63-61. Whew! Now we have one more win under our belts than I do claws on my feet. I had to use one of Thurber's paws just to count them all. And we're not done yet! Oxy on Saturday.

Bulldogs vs Regals 1

This was the mascot view of the game tonight. A bit choppy. A bit warped. A bit out of focus. Hey, kind of like those six minutes of the second half where we decided to stop scoring and make my blood pressure go up!

Lacrosse Opener

The Tigers of Oxy have never won a SCIAC Lacrosse game due mainly to the fact that they've never played one until tonight. As good natured as Bulldogs tend to be, we weren't about to be lulled into the historic moment. Let the record books forever reflect the Tigers first loss was to the Bulldogs. Yes, we dominated the game with attack after relentless attack. By the end of the first half, we were up 16 to 1. We finished 18-3. Ten different Bulldogs scored including multiple goals from Christy, Aimee, Ashley, Megan, and Mary. In addition to our offense, our defense stopped shots, redirected attacks from the net, regained control of the ball, and sent our midfield and attackers on their way to the opposite goal. Thurber and I stayed through the better part of the second half, leaving only after we felt secure in the win. They'll be plenty of more games to catch as the nights warm up.

Elementary Surprise

On occasion, elementary school students from the area visit the university to gain exposure to our college and hopefully inspire them to set goals of higher education. Who knows if anyone of these kids will become part of our 2020 freshman class. I hope so. Who knows if anyone of them will become Ad Hosts who cater to an older set of interested students. Speaking of the Ad Hosts, all three of us got a chance to play at Willis Center with some of them. Thurber tends to be the most rambunctious and Talulah was glad to step paw back on university ground.

Center for the Arts Dedication plus Tennis

I am not one to shy away from grand opening events, so I was sure to attend the dedication ceremony for the new Center for the Arts. Dignitaries, benefactors, professors, students, and guests were all in attendance under the tent and threat of rain, but the spotlight will shine on the University for years to come with this grand facility. Oddly enough, I walked around the entire perimeter and didn't see a visiting kennel. How am I going to enjoy the shows? They must be planning on an addition in the near future. I can wait. After the dedication, I sauntered over to Verdieck Courts to watch the Women's Tennis team declaw the Leopards of La Verne 9-0. This was the first of twelve straight home matches so there's plenty of time for fans to watch some excellent tennis. Check out goredlands.com for a complete schedule and find some time to support these ladies. Tomorrow they play Cal Tech.