CMS Women's Basketball Celebrates Senior Day with Sixth Straight Win

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's basketball team honored its four seniors prior to the game and then went on to capture its sixth straight win, defeating Caltech 79-51 on Saturday evening at Roberts Pavilion.

With the win, CMS improves to 15-6 overall and 8-4 in the SCIAC and pulls within two games of first-place Redlands, which fell to Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday to drop to 10-2. Caltech slips to 4-17 overall and 2-10 with the loss. 



The CMS four seniors, Gloria Bates, Lindsey Cleary, Lauren Longo and Maya Love, improved their career records to 82-22 with the win, and can eye a potential opportunity at a fourth SCIAC regular season title in four years, with a game still remaining at Redlands to potentially close its two-game deficit. Cleary finished with 18 points on 8-9 shooting to lead the CMS offense. 

Caltech, which was down to only six players dressed due to injuries, hung close for a while, staying within 20-17 at the end of the first quarter. After the Beavers scored the first basket of the second quarter to make it a one-point game, CMS outscored the Beavers 28-4 the rest of the half to take a 48-23 lead at the break. 

Sophomore forward Flora Durgerian started the run with a basket, and Cleary found junior forward Kate Parrish for a layup to make the score 24-19. Two straight Cleary baskets made it a 28-19 lead, capping an 8-0 run which was interrupted by two foul shots from Grace Peng. CMS then scored the next 14 points, which began with two straight baskets from Cleary and ended with two straight baskets from Bates, as the seniors took charge. The Athenas then closed out the half with three-pointers from junior guard Kelly Keene and Durgerian in the final minute to push the lead up to 48-23 at the half. 

Bates joined Cleary in double figures with 10 points, while making the start on her Senior Day. Parrish also had 11 points, eight rebounds and four blocks for CMS, while Durgerian, sophomore Jane Baldwin and first-year Austyn Masuno each had seven points off the bench. Junior point guard Maezelle Millan had eight assists and one turnover, giving her 18 assists and two turnovers on the week after tallying 10 assists and one turnover in a win over Pomona-Pitzer on Wednesday. CMS outscored Caltech 48-20 in the paint and had 16 fast break points to none for the Beavers. 

Although Senior Day was held today as part of the final weekend home game, CMS will have two more home games in quick succession, taking on La Verne on Monday night and Occidental on Wednesday night at Roberts Pavilion.