CMS Women's Basketball Pulls Away from Occidental for Eighth Win in a Row

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Junior forward Kate Parrish had a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds and first-year guard Jacey Carter (12 points) knocked down four straight three-pointers in a span of less than three minutes in the second half as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's basketball team pulled away from Occidental for an 83-55 win on Wednesday evening at Roberts Pavilion.

The win was the eighth in a row for CMS, which improves to 17-6 overall and 10-4 and takes over sole possession of second place in the SCIAC after a 2-4 start in league play. Occidental falls to 6-16 overall and 1-12 in league play with the loss. 

Occidental hung tough in the first half, tying the score 11-11 at the end of the first quarter on a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Alyssa Ramlochan, and staying within seven points (32-25 at the half). Parrish, though, asserted herself down low after halftime with seven points and nine rebounds, finishing with 11 and 13 for her sixth double-double of the season. She had nine of her rebounds on the offensive end to help the Athenas to a 24-2 advantage in second-chance points. 

Parrish started the second half with the first five points on two baskets and a foul shot to give CMS a double-digit lead for good at 37-25. A layup from senior guard Lauren Longo pushed the lead to 39-25, and after Occidental stopped the run with a basket, Longo hit a three-pointer to make it a 42-27 contest. A three-pointer from junior guard Katelynn Nguyen and a layup from senior guard Gloria Bates extended the lead to 20 for the first time at 51-31 with 1:39 left in the third. 

Carter then went on a shooting barrage, with four three-pointers in a span of 2:42 to break the game wide open. She hit two three-pointers in the final 1:09 of the third quarter to help give the Athenas a 59-38 lead after 30 minutes, and then hit two more from beyond the arc in the first 1:33 of the fourth quarter to give the Athenas a 65-38 lead. 

CMS finished with a 48-33 rebounding edge, as sophomore forward Jane Baldwin added nine off the bench in 13 minutes. The two Athena point guards combined for nine assists and no turnovers, as junior Maezelle Millan had five assists and Nguyen had four. As a team, CMS had 18 assists and committed only eight turnovers on the night. while forcing the Tigers into 21 turnovers. 

The Athenas will be back in action in one week for a key game at Redlands at 7 p.m. Redlands currently stands in first place in the SCIAC at 11-2, and CMS could pull within one game of the Bulldogs with a win to give it a chance at sharing the league title after a 2-4 start.