Late basket by Redlands sinks Athenas

CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's basketball team (13-8, 9-3) fell to Redlands 64-63 on Saturday night as the Bulldogs clinched a game-winning layup with three seconds left from Reyna Ta'amu. Coming off a timeout with 10 seconds left, the Athenas glued onto their respective defensive assignments off the inbounds pass to deny Redlands the basket. One of the Redlands' guards managed to heave a pass in traffic and Ta'amu tossed up a layup over several defenders as her shot clanked in.

Senior Kris Brackmann (CMC) had a stellar game, scoring 25 points and nabbing six steals, while her classmate Aly Young (CMC) scored 10 points off the bench. Mariana Ecija scored 22 points off the bench for the Bulldogs, including 6-for-7 from the 3-point line, and Jade Cheldelin dropped 18 points.

The game started fairly tight in the first two quarters, as the two teams struggled to build a significant lead over one another. It was not until 7:16 left in the second quarter when Ecija sparked the Bulldogs to a 9-3 run, starting with a 3-pointer from beyond the arc. Freshman Maya Love (CMC) managed to bully her way for an and-one layup, but Ecija responded with two free throws. Cheldelin followed with a layup, and later Angela Silver knocked down a jumper to give Redlands a 26-19 lead.

The Athenas quickly fought back at the start of the second half, going on an 8-2 lead to take the lead. Senior Jai Dungca (CMC) closed the run with a corner three followed by a coast-to-coast layup to give CMS the 31-30 advantage. The two teams exchanged baskets, but CMS surely looked ready to close it out. Trailing 62-60 and less than 30 seconds left, Brackmann drove in to the paint and drew contact as she made a layup. She calmly hit her free throw to give the one-point lead before Redlands scored the game-winner in the final three seconds.

CMS will host Whittier on Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. in hopes getting back on the winning track. The Athenas won their last meeting earlier this season 59-43 on Dec. 31.

Box Score

By Young Kim
Sports Information Assistant

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