Occidental women’s basketball team traveled to Abilene, Texas to battle it out against Hardin-Simmons University in the first round of NCAA DIII tournament March 1. The Tigers fell to Hardin-Simmons 65-53.
Hardin-Simmons took the lead with a nine point difference early in the first quarter, and held on throughout the entire game, with the Tigers trailing 36-24 at half-time. The Tigers fought back with Ainsley Shelsta’s (sophomore) 19 rebounds and Toni Thompson’s (senior) 15 points. Thompson closed out her collegiate basketball career with 1,017 total career points over two seasons.
Occidental women’s basketball did not take home the win, but they did have an opportunity to showcase their talent and hard work on the national level, representing Occidental College in the NCAA tournament for only the third time in school history.
The NCAA bid was the culmination of a spectacular season for the team. In order secure their bid, the Tigers won the SCIAC championship for the first time since 2011.
In the closely contested SCIAC final game, women’s basketball defeated top seed Cal Lutheran 66-58 Feb. 24.
Thompson was named the SCIAC Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player due to her 25-point performance. Additionally, Thompson led all SCIAC players in points, averaging 24.7 points per game, and came in second for rebounds with an average of 11.4 per game.
“We were down at the end of the first quarter, 21 to 13. And to be honest with you, I wasn’t really too worried about it,” Thompson said. “We just got beat on simple things that are easy to adjust, which we did adjust in later on. We just had to make those small adjustments and we were so excited that our nerves kind of played into it a little bit, along with knowing that Cal Lu had beat us pretty bad previously.”
Starting point guard Dominique Cabading (sophomore) had 10 points and six assists in the SCIAC Championship.
“We had a huge third quarter. We just went on this run where we just couldn’t miss and everyone was very locked in at that time,” Cabading said. “After the first half, seeing that we were right there with the number one seed […] really sparked a switch in us, that we can really, really do this and we’re not far off. That realization helped us play really good defense and got us a 20-point lead, which was amazing.”
Starting center Shelsta was a key contributor to the team’s SCIAC championship win with 13 rebounds.
“The locker room at halftime was a really pivotal moment because we all just kind of got together as a team even before our coach came in and said we’re doing good, we have 20 minutes left,” Shelsta said. “You miss a shot, you miss a rebound, you miss a box out, next play, move on. Fight like you’re never going to play again. And I think we came out and did that in the third quarter.”
Head coach Anahit Aladzhanyan ’07 has been involved with Occidental basketball for the better part of two decades, first as a student-athlete then as a coach. This year Aladzhanyan and the women’s basketball coaching staff were named the SCIAC Coaching Staff of the Year.
“We talk about being in attack mode. We were just on the gas pedal,” Aladzhanyan said. “It was like, go, go, go, don’t let up. And that’s exactly what happened. Luckily things worked out our way and we got a substantial lead. Cal Lu made a run in the fourth quarter, [they] hit back-to-back threes and kind of started chipping away at our lead. But we hung in, held our ground and got the win.”
According to Shelsta, the emotions at the end of the game were phenomenal in part because of the support the team felt from the Occidental community.
“The clock ticked down to zero and I just ran on the court and all of our team was there and our friends, family and supporters were there, and it was an insane feeling,” Shelsta said. “I think so many of us were in disbelief. We were over the moon for our seniors too because that could have been their last game, thankfully, they have more games. The insane amount of support that we felt, from the Oxy community and from each other as a team was phenomenal. It’s a moment that all of us are never really going to forget.”
According to Thompson she missed the entirety of the 2022-2023 season due to a torn knee tendon, but that experience helped her see the court in a different way.
“I couldn’t jump at all and simply just going up and down stairs and walking at a slight incline, hurt so much. I was in constant pain,” Thompson said. “I’m not really too vocal outside of the court and usually I use my skills to help lead a team. So, it was a switch for me to see how I can help my team out from the sidelines rather than doing it on the court. That helped me out a lot this year with understanding where the coaches are coming from and how the players think.”
According to Thompson, coach Aladzhanyan was instrumental in the team’s success and helping keep everyone on track to victory.
“Before the first playoff game coach told us a big story about wolves. You have a good wolf and the bad wolf, and the bad wolf is all negativity,” Thompson said. “And she said, ‘No matter what, never feed the bad wolf, always feed the good wolf‘ And the second game she told us a story about frogs and how they ribbit so loudly which is crowd noises. She said, ‘No matter what type of cheering is coming from the crowd, it’s always for you guys. All the boos are for you, they’re just acknowledging that you’re there. They’re just acknowledging that you’re there.’ Those stories helped us stay grounded and keep us going. And just her belief in us was enough to help us.”
Cabading said that the fans were essential to their success this season, especially in the SCIAC final.
“It was so nice to see how many people in the stands there were for us,” Cabading said. “It was just overwhelmingly positive and happy. It’s just such a privilege to be there and also win [SCIAC] and then see how many people were there rooting for us.”
Contact Theo Wilton at twilton@oxy.edu
