Athenas Dominate the Paint, Head to Break on High-Note

CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Athenas outscored the Pacific Boxers 32-8 in the paint on Sunday afternoon to secure a 64-42 victory in their final game before a 12-day break for the holidays. Kailee Severt (CMC) broke a 7-7 tie with a layup four minutes into the contest and CMS never trailed again. The layup from Severt were two of her game-high 23 points. She paced the Athenas with a 9-15 shooting performance in the game.

The victory extends the Athenas' winning streak to four games and improves CMS' record to 7-2 on the season. The Athenas will now take off until Dec. 29th when the Middlebury Panthers visit Roberts Pavilion at 5:00 p.m.

Following Severt's layup midway through the opening quarter, the Athenas took control. The layup started a 10-0 CMS run that was fueled with six points from Maya Love (CMC) and four from Severt. The CMS lead was trimmed to just six points over the final two minutes of the period, but the Athenas held a 17-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Both offenses started the second quarter relatively quiet, with a layup from Kate Parrish (CMC) accounting for the only points of the first two and a half minutes of the period. Things started to pick-up midway through the period with Parrish dominating for the Athenas. After not playing in the first quarter, Parrish played all ten minutes of the second stanza and went 4-5 from the field for eight points. She also added an assist and a block in the period.

Over the final five minutes of the half, the Boxers began bringing more pressure in the full-court and narrowed the Athena lead to five points, 32-27 at the break.

CMS quickly pushed their lead to 39-27 with a 7-0 run to start the second-half. During the run, Love and Severt each connected on buckets before Ellery Koelker-Wolfe (CMC) drained a three to put the Athenas up 12 points. The lead hovered between nine and 13 points for the remainder of the quarter and CMS held a 49-37 advantage heading to the final period.

During the middle of the fourth quarter, CMS held the Boxers scoreless for an 8:51 stretch. Pacific scored first in the quarter with a layup from Carly Kakuda less than a minute into the period, but that would be their last bucket until a three from Ashley Jones with 18 seconds remaining in the game. During the nearly nine-minute scoring drought from the Boxers, CMS went on a 14-0 run and lead by as many as 24 points before winning 64-42.

As mentioned, the Athenas will take off for almost two weeks before taking the floor on Dec. 29th against Middlebury in Roberts Pavilion. The game is part of a double-header with the CMS men's team. The Athenas will play Middlebury at 5:00 p.m. and the Stags host Lewis & Clark at 7:00 p.m.