LOS ANGELES – A pair of bench players shined in the Linfield women's basketball team's 76-66 loss to Occidental Monday night at Rush Gym.
 
Freshman forward Elyse Waldal scored 17 points and grabbed three rebounds in just 18 minutes as a reserve to lead the Wildcats in scoring. She connected on 6 of 10 from the field, 3 of 6 from three-point range and 2 of 3 from the free throw line.
 
Junior forward Jordan Worthington also scored in double digits for the 'Cats with 14 points and one rebound in 15 minutes. She made 5 of 6 from the field and was a perfect 4 of 4 from the charity stripe.
 
The Wildcats got off to a nice start, outscoring the Tigers 38-31 in the first half. The Tigers flipped the script in the second half, holding the 'Cats to just eight points in the third quarter and going on a 45-28 run of their own in the second half.
 
The Tigers shot 44.1 percent from the field and scored 17 points off 15 Linfield turnovers. Toni Thompson dropped a game-high 23 points on 7 of 19 shooting from the field and 9 of 11 from the free throw line. She also had eight rebounds, two assists and a steal. Maylene Hughes finished with 16 points and three rebounds while Alegira Lopez (14) and Alyanna McGrath (10) also scored in double digits.
 
The Linfield bench kept the 'Cats in the game with 43 points, largely in part to Waldal and Worthington. Junior forward Alexis Heald and freshman forward Gillyan Landis led the starters with nine points apiece. Heald led the team with 31 minutes, finishing with three rebounds and a pair of steals and shooting 50 percent from the field. Landis grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
 
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Linfield dropped to 0-4 on the season with the loss. The 'Cats will close their California road trip against Caltech at 6 p.m. on Tuesday in Pasadena.