Fast Start, Big Effort From Masuno Leads CMS Women's Basketball Past Pomona-Pitzer

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Austyn Masuno had 18 points and 18 rebounds and the CMS women's basketball team began the game with its best offensive quarter of the season as it took a 64-55 win over Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday night at Roberts Pavilion.

The win gets CMS back on the winning track at 3-5 overall and 1-1 in the SCIAC, after a tough four-game stretch that featured tight losses to Willamette and Whitworth and a league-opening defeat at Redlands on Wednesday. Pomona-Pitzer now stands at 3-5 overall and 1-1 in league play as well. 

CMS scored only five points in the first quarter against Redlands on Wednesday and nearly dug its way out of a 20-5 hole, cutting the lead to two on three occasions. This time, they came out determined to write a different script, knocking down their first four shots and taking a 24-9 lead after the end of the first quarter. 

Flora Durgerian started things off with a three-pointer, and Jacey Carter followed with a driving lay-up and a three-pointer to make it an 8-2 CMS lead. Jocelyn Song hit a tough runner to put the Athenas ahead 10-2 just 2:31 into the game and forcing a quick Pomona-Pitzer timeout.

Gwen Gilmore extended the lead to 13-2 just over two-minutes later with a three-point play, and a Grace Florendo drive capped off a 12-0 run and put CMS in front 15-2. A Florendo three-pointer stretched the lead to 20-4 with 2:19 left in the first before CMS settled for a 24-9 lead after the first 10 minutes. 

Pomona-Pitzer dug down and battled back to within 10 points at 30-20 to put some pressure on the Athenas late in the half, but CMS responded with an 8-0 run to take a 38-20 lead into the break, which turned into a 14-0 run when the Athenas scored the first six points of the second half. Masuno started the spurt with a basket, Kayla Ishibashi knocked down a three-pointer, and Masuno made three foul shots to end the half. 

Masuno and Carter started the second half with jumpers and Ishibashi made a layup to give CMS its largest lead at 44-20. Pomona-Pitzer had one run left in it, though, and got to within eight points late in the fourth quarter, but Carter found Masuno for a layup with 1:01 left to make it a 10-point lead and essentially seal the win. 

Carter joined Masuno in double figures with 12 points, and the CMS defense held Pomona-Pitzer to just 32.3 percent shooting. Ishibashi had eight points and eight rebounds and did a solid job defending Sagehen leading scorer Madison Quan, who shot just 3-14 on the day. 

CMS will be back in action on Wednesday at La Verne for its final SCIAC contest of the calendar year, before taking a 10-day break for final exams.