The Leopards of the University of La Verne returned home on Wednesday evening and battled with the visiting California Lutheran Regals. Timely defense and clutch three-point shooting helped boost the Leos to victory, 71-67.
Senior guard Jaelynn Curley led the way offensively while the Leopards were on the road, and carried the ferocity back with her to their home floor. Curley lit up the scoreboard with 31 points, including a game-winner from downtown and two insurance free throws to seal the deal.
Trailing 67-66 with just over a minute remaining in the fourth quarter, Curley created space for herself along the perimeter and nailed her night’s eighth three-point shot to regain the lead, 69-67.
Upon entering as a substitution on Curley’s game-winner, junior forward Casey Kuramoto used her length to nab a steal from the Regals’ offense with only :42 left in regulation, which locked down the win.
Kuramoto’s clutch play on both sides of the ball brought the Leos back to life several times throughout the game. She scored nine points on 3-7 shooting, all of which she handled beyond the arc; likewise for Marissa Howell, the Leopards’ first-year guard, who scored her own nine points on 3-9 from long. Senior Monica Garcia tallied eleven on the scoresheet while also snagging six boards.
Mackenzy Iwahashi finished with nine points and four assists for Cal Lutheran.
La Verne earned their third conference win to improve to a 3-6 SCIAC record, which they will take to Caltech on Saturday.
– Courtesy La Verne Athletics
Masuno Nets 13, But CMS Stunned at Caltech
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps was unable to shake an off night offensively on Wednesday, as it dropped a 49-34 road decision to Caltech, snapping the Athenas’ four-game win streak.
With the defeat, CMS slips to 8-10 on the year and falls to 4-5 in the SCIAC. Caltech sees its record improve to 7-10 overall and 2-7 in conference play.
Austyn Masuno led CMS with 13 points on 5-11 shooting, and Elizabeth Howell-Egan knocked down two three-pointers in four attempts off the bench to try to spark the offense.
Masuno scored the first basket of the second half to close the deficit to 24-19, but Caltech went on a 9-0 run to pull ahead 33-19 before Howell-Egan ended a six-minute scoring drought with a three-pointer.
Jacey Carter hit two straight three-pointers in the fourth quarter to get the score down to 44-31, but that was as close as the Athenas could come. CMS was coming off an impressive offensive showing on Saturday, when it defeated first-place Redlands 74-70 at Roberts Pavilion, but couldn’t find the same rhythm against Caltech’s defense this evening.
Kayla Ishibashi added two points and three assists for CMS.
CMS will be back in action on Saturday when it tries to get back to its winning ways with a home game against Occidental.
– Courtesy CMS Athletics
Chapman Loses Thriller at Whittier, 56-55
Brittany McPherson scored eight points with half a dozen of both assists and rebounds, but Chapman were on the short end of a nail-biter on Wednesday, a 56-55 loss to the host Whittier Poets.
Sammie Inana scored six and Katie Kubo added five for the Panthers.