Jay Miller
Guard Jay Miller (junior) had a productive Thanksgiving break, leading the Occidental men’s basketball team (4-1 overall) to victories over West Coast Baptist (82-49) and Sarah Lawrence University (83-52). Miller acted as the offensive spark plug for the Tigers by netting 15 points against the Eagles and then a season-high 23 against the Gryphons. In addition to his offensive contribution, Miller also collected 10 rebounds between the two games, helping to extend Occidental’s current winning streak to four games.
“Against Sarah Lawrence, I had a good individual performance, but a lot of that was because of the selflessness of my teammate, and them getting me the ball in good spots where I am comfortable taking shots,” Miller said. “I just did what [Head Coach Brian Newhall] and [Assistant Coach Mike Wells] always say in practice and tried to stay on balance and make them pay — so when the defense made a mistake, I tried to take advantage.”
Grace Baranowski
The Occidental women’s basketball team beat UC Merced 74-61 and collected their first win of the season this past Friday thanks to an offensive outburst by sophomore guard Grace Baranowski. She spread out her team-high 17 points with a steady barrage of buckets, none of which were bigger than her three-pointer that started off the fourth quarter and ended UC Merced’s second-half comeback. Baranowski also proved that she was more than just an offensive workhorse, collecting a team-high eight rebounds and tallying an assist. Baranowski continued to her versatility in Occidental’s 75-18 drubbing over Illinois Tech, as she recorded two assists, three steals and six points in only 13 minutes of action.
“We played as a cohesive unit that night, which gave my teammates and I many opportunities to score,” Baranowski said. “It always comes down to us finishing our shots, and that night we did that very successfully.”
