Top Seeded Athenas Prepared for SCIAC Tournament
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CLAREMONT, Calif. - With a victory against Chapman over the weekend, the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's basketball team claimed a share of the SCIAC Championship. The Athenas and Panthers finished the regular season tied on top of the SCIAC Standings with a 15-1 conference record. A coin flip following the final game of the season gave the Athenas the top seed heading into this weekend's tournament. No. 1 CMS will host the No. 4 Redlands Bulldogs on Thursday night in Roberts Pavilion at 7:00 p.m.
The winner of the Thursday semifinal between CMS and Redlands will square off against the winner of No. 2 Chapman and No. 3 Cal Lutheran on Saturday.
See below for a quick preview of the SCIAC Tournament field:
No. 1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athenas - 22-3 overall, 15-1 SCIAC
The Athenas enter SCIAC Tournament action having won 19 of their last 20 games and stand at 22-3 overall. CMS is led by Kailee Severt (CMC) who averages 13.2 points per game, a 4.6 rebounds per game, while Maya Love (CMC) boasts a 13.0 points per game average, and hauls in 10.9 rebounds per contest. Corinne Bogle (CMC) and Kate Parrish (CMC) add 9.5 and 9.0 points per game respectively.
No. 4 Redlands Bulldogs - 14-11, 9-7
Fourth-seeded Redlands enters tournament play led by Reyna Ta'amu - 15.4 points, and 7.1 rebounds per game - while Cassandra Lacey and Allison Siksnus have provided 12.1 and 9.1 points per game for the Bulldogs this season. Siksnus has also notched 5.8 boards per game in 2017-18, while Lacey has dished out 3.1 assists per contest.
When they met:
The Athenas swept their two previous meetings with the Bulldogs this season. Back on Dec. 6, the Athenas escaped with a 58-55 victory at home. In that game, Gloria Bates led the CMS effort with 15 points, including 10 points in the fourth quarter. CMS trailed by three with under a minute left in the game, but late free throws gave the Athenas the victory. On Jan. 24 the Athenas pulled away from Redlands late for a 58-45 victory. In the victory, Kailee Severt and Kate Parrish both went for double-digits with 16 and 12 points, respectively.
No. 2 Chapman Panthers - 21-4, 15-1
Second-seeded Chapman takes the court led by Lucy Criswell who leads the team in both points per game (14.5) and rebounds per outing (5.7). Jaime Hum-Nishikado follows averaging 13.3 points per game, while Jaryn Fajardo adds 10.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game for the Panthers.
When they met:
The Panthers and Athenas tied atop the SCIAC standings at the end of the regular season after splitting their two meetings earlier this season. The Panthers took down CMS on Jan. 13 in Orange by a 68-56 final. In that game, Jaime Hum-Nishikado led three double-digit scorers for the Panthers with 19. This past Saturday, the Athenas avenged their loss from the middle of January with a 67-58 victory over Chapman. CMS led by as many as 30 points in the game, but a late Chapman run pulled the Panthers within nine. Maya Love championed the victory for the Athenas with 19 points and 21 rebounds in the victory.
No. 3 Cal Lutheran Regals - 15-10, 10-6
Cal Lutheran's Kiana Gray leads the third-seed Regals with an 11.1 points per game average, while Kailee Yan and Kayla Watterson follow with 8.7 and 8.5 points per game respectively. Watterson also leads the team on the glass pulling down 10.2 boards per game, while Gray chips in 6.9 rebounds per contest.
When they met:
The Athenas and Regals saw each other two times in a matter of 10 days at the end of January and the beginning of February. On Jan. 27, the Athenas handed Cal Lutheran a 69-52 defeat. CMS dominated the first-half of the game, taking a 31-18 lead into the break, before cruising in the second-half for the 17-point victory. Their second meeting on Feb. 5 went down to the wire, Maya Love made a layup with three seconds left in the game to give CMS a 52-51 victory. Love went for 19 points and 16 rebounds in the game.
Please note: Portions of this article have been borrowed from the SCIAC Preview Article.