Athenas turn the heat up in second half to beat La Verne

Athenas turn the heat up in second half to beat La Verne

CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's basketball team beat the University of La Verne Saturday, Feb. 15, 74-51 in Ducey Gym. The win keeps the Athenas at the top of SCIAC play with a 12-2 record and a combined record of 20-3 with two games remaining in the regular season.

CMS started out fast to take a commanding lead from the tip, but the Leopards stormed back to tie and eventually take the lead midway through the first half.   It was a nip and tuck game through the rest of the half, with the Athenas holding a narrow margin, 29-27.  Free throws really kept La Verne close going 11-for-12 while CMS shot just under 41 percent from the field.

Up until the midway point of the second half, the game was back in forth.  Then CMS started to distance themselves from the help of Madeline Barnes team high 22 points and Kimberly Scamman and her double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds respectively.  Scamman was two assists shy of a triple double with her team high eight assists.

The Leopards had no answer for Barnes and Scamman in the second half.  They also had trouble containing Claire Donnelly and her 11 points and four rebounds.  La Verne was led by Emily Myers and her own double-double chipping a game high 24 points and 11 rebounds.

CMS was hot from beyond the three point line in the second half shooting 7-for-10 and 10-for-17 on the game.  The Athenas finished game shooting 50 percent from the field, while playing aggressive on the defensive end holding the Leopards to just under 24 percent from the field shooting for the game.

CMS will host the University of Redlands on Thursday, Feb. 20 in their final home game of the regular season.  Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.

Box Score:  http://www.cmsathletics.org/sports/wbkb/2013-14/boxscores/20140215_m7sn.xml

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