CLAREMONT — Austyn Masuno had 18 points and 18 rebounds and the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women’s basketball team began the game with its best offensive quarter of the season as it took a 64-55 win over Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday night.
The win gets CMS back on the winning track at 3-5 overall and 1-1 in the SCIAC, after a tough four-game stretch that featured tight losses to Willamette and Whitworth and a league-opening defeat at Redlands on Wednesday. Pomona-Pitzer now stands at 3-5 overall and 1-1 in league play as well.
CMS scored only five points in the first quarter against Redlands on Wednesday and nearly dug its way out of a 20-5 hole, cutting the lead to two on three occasions. This time, they came out determined to write a different script, knocking down their first four shots and taking a 24-9 lead after the end of the first quarter.
With CMS leading 24-9, Pomona-Pitzer dug down and battled back to within 10 points at 30-20 to put some pressure on the Athenas late in the half, but CMS responded with an 8-0 run to take a 38-20 lead into the break. That turned into a 14-0 run when the Athenas scored the first six points of the second half. Masuno started the spurt with a basket, Kayla Ishibashi knocked down a three-pointer, and Masuno made three foul shots to end the half.
Masuno and Jacey Carter started the second half with jumpers and Ishibashi made a layup to give CMS its largest lead at 44-20. Pomona-Pitzer had one run left in it, though, and got to within eight points late in the fourth quarter, but Carter found Masuno for a layup with 1:01 left to make it a 10-point lead and essentially seal the win.
Carter joined Masuno in double figures with 12 points, and the CMS defense held Pomona-Pitzer to just 32.3 percent shooting. Ishibashi had eight points and eight rebounds and did a solid job defending Sagehen leading scorer Madison Quan, who shot just 3-14 on the day.
Alysha Maile Yamada had two points and an assist off the bench for Pomona- Pitzer.
CMS will be back in action on Wednesday at La Verne before taking a 10-day break for final exams.
Pomona-Pitzer will host Chapman on Wednesday.
— Courtesy CMS Athletics
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The Occidental women’s basketball team brought home their first SCIAC victory on Saturday, oulasting the University of La Verne, 84-82.
After going back and forth with the Leopards, the Tigers’ stamina and persistence earned them the lead and the win.
It is the second straight two-point loss to begin the conference schedule for La Verne.
Toni Thompson led the all scorers with 31 points. Clarissa Kiyomura had three rebounds off the bench for Oxy.
La Verne got 21 points from Jazzlyn Johnson while Alyssa Ono had nine points and five rebounds, and Casey Kuramoto added three points and an assist.
The Leopards jumped out to a five-point lead to open the first quarter, but went into the half trailing by three, 38-35.
For the entire second half the teams traded buckets, with the score notched within two points between the midway point of the third quarter, and 1:15 left in the game.
With the loss, the Leopards fall to 3-3, 0-2 SCIAC and the Tigers add their first conference win, 1-1, and move to 4-2 overall.
La Verne looks to bounce back Wednesday as they host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
The Tigers will host Knox College on Dec. 17.
– La Verne Occidental Athletics