Maya Love puts together her first career 20-20 game as the Athenas comeback.
Maya Love puts together her first career 20-20 game as the Athenas comeback.

The Power of Love: Maya Goes Off in Comeback Victory

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athenas trailed by as many as 12 points on Monday night against Occidental, but a huge fourth quarter helped lift CMS past the Tigers 57-51. Maya Love (CMC) set career-highs with 25-points and 21 rebounds in an impressive double-double to lead the Athenas to the comeback victory.

Both teams struggled from the field, with Tigers firing at a 28.1% clip (16-57) and CMS just percentage points better at 28.8% in the game (19-66). The Athenas made the most of their buckets late, outscoring the Tigers 15-5 in the fourth quarter.

It was a struggle for the Athenas early in Monday's game. CMS shot just 4-16 from the field in and only got to the free throw line one time in the opening quarter. The sluggish start allowed the Tigers to double up the Athenas after the first ten minutes of play at 18-9.

Just over a minute into the second quarter, the Tigers took their largest lead of the night when Alyssa Ramlochan knocked down a three to give Occidental a 21-9 lead. Maya Love quickly brought the Athenas within eight after a layup and a pair of free throws in a 20-second span. Another layup from Love made it 21-15 and the Athenas were right back in the game.

The Athenas remained close throughout the majority of the second quarter thanks to 10 points in the period from Love, but a late 4-0 Occidental run in the final minute of the half gave the Tigers a 33-24 lead at the break.

Occidental continued to hold the lead into the third quarter and eventually grew their lead to 44-32 midway through the period after a three-point play from Ramlochan. Kailee Severt (CMC) countered with a three of the next CMS possession to start a 10-0 run for the Athenas that ran for nearly five minutes. Severt hit a second three during the run to account for six points during the stretch. Love also made a pair of free throws and Corinne Bogle connected on a layup at the end of the streak.

The game remained close throughout the early portion of the fourth quarter, but Ii took five more minutes for the Athenas to draw even. With 5:10 remaining in the game a layup from Kate Parrish (CMC) made it 50-50 and, after a defensive stop, Love followed with a jumper to give the Athenas their first lead of the game.

After taking the lead with 4:39 remaining in the game, the Athenas would not give it up. CMS knocked down their free throws late in the contest and held on for the 57-51 victory over the Tigers.

CMS allowed just five points in the fourth quarter and held the Tigers to a 2-14 shooting effort in the period to complete the comeback.

Kate Parrish collected four blocks in the game, marking her third-straight game with at least four swats.

With the win, the Athenas extend their winning streak to nine games and improve to 12-2 overall (5-0 SCIAC). CMS will next take the floor on Saturday when they travel to Chapman to take on the Panthers at 4:00 p.m.