LA VERNE, CA — Marissa Howell scored 21 points while Alyssa Smith notched her 10th double-double of the season as the University of La Verne women's basketball team took down the Occidental Tigers in a jungle cat SCIAC matchup on Saturday afternoon 77-61.

Smith's double-double featured 14 points and 15 rebounds while Annie Trinh contributed 17 points. Christen Ziska put up 10 points and stole nine rebounds. Jossy Calizo also chipped in four points and collected five rebounds.

Occidental commanded the first quarter and closed out the first ten minutes of play with a slim five-point lead. Still, the Leopards came to play with their claws out, outscoring the Tigers 18-12 in the second quarter and going into halftime with a 32-31 lead courtesy of Trinh, who made a buzzer-beating two-pointer to end the half.

The third quarter featured 12 lead changes as both teams fought for the lead. La Verne remained on top, going into the final 10 minutes of play with a three-point edge, 51-48, and hoping to break their four-game losing streak.

The Leopards found their rhythm in the fourth quarter, controlling both sides of the court, holding the Tigers to only 13 points while netting 26 of their own and securing the win 77-61.

Dominique Cabading led the Tigers with her double-double, scoring 15 points and seizing 14 rebounds. Megan Delgado also added 14 points.

The Leopards will aim to kick off a winning streak this Wednesday as they take on the University of Redlands at 7 p.m. at Currier Gymnasium.