CMC75 Moments: 2001 Women's Basketball Earns SCIAC Title in Overtime
As part of the buildup to the 75th Anniversary celebration for Claremont McKenna College (visit CMC's 75th Anniversary Countdown Page to learn more), we are reliving many of the great moments from CMS athletic department history over the 75-day countdown from April 17 to July 1. If you were a part of this great moment and would like to add to the memories, or if you would like to submit your memories of your own favorite CMS Athletics moment, fill out the form on our main 75th Anniversary page.
Great Moments from 75 Years of Athletics
2001 Women's Basketball: Athenas 69, Whittier 61 (OT)
The final day of the regular season for the CMS women's basketball team came against Whittier, which worked out to be a de facto conference championship game. Both teams came into the game at 9-2 in conference, with the winner guaranteed to take home the SCIAC title and earn a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Athenas had won the first meeting against the Poets in overtime and found themselves in the exact same spot, tied at the end of regulation, as the SCIAC title would need an extra five minutes.
CMS responded in the overtime, pulling away for a 69-61 win for the fifth SCIAC title in program history, and the first since 1996, earning a trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Aubrey Edgmon and Rebekah Chee tied for team-high honors with 17 points, while Felicia Davis added 13 and Colleen Donlan added 10. Davis was the SCIAC Player of the Year, and was joined on the All-SCIAC first team by Edgmon, while Chee was named to the second team.
Several of the other Athenas would continue to leave their mark after the 2001 season. Holly Echeverria earned All-SCIAC honors the following year as a senior and became the first Athena to win the SCIAC's Ed Baldwin Award. Colleen Donlan became a first-team All-SCIAC selection her senior season in 2003, while Anne Hermreck would go on to win a second SCIAC title as a senior in 2004, when the Athenas tied Redlands in the regular season and then defeated the Bulldogs in a playoff game. Felicia Davis, meanwhile, would stay with the program through the 2008-09 season as an assistant coach.
Felicia Davis:
Regarding the game itself, I have to say that I am shocked I don't recall very much of it. I didn't even remember that we played Whittier, or that the game went into overtime. Pretty strange for a moment that was the highlight of my career, but there are two things I distinctly remember about that year.
One was the size of our team. We had nine players, not even enough to play 5-on-5 at practice. So we recruited one of our friends, track athlete Anthony Tarne, to be our permanent practice player. He was at every practice and made us so much better than we ever would have been without him. But the small size of the team made every single team member so incredibly important. I remember freshman Anne Hermreck making key baskets against Cal Lutheran to help us to our first road victory against them during my career. I remember Kristina Philbrick playing key minutes when Rebekah Chee went down, and I remember Bek playing through a torn ACL to finish the season and lift us to a SCIAC championship. I just remember that we were an incredibly tight unit, played for each other, and had so much fun doing it.
The other thing I remember from that season is being coached by Jodie and David, wife and husband, together. David was incredibly sick that year. His tracheotomy tube prevent him from yelling; he really couldn't talk much at all. When he wanted to get your attention, he clapped, or if he was really mad, threw a clipboard on the ground. And you had to run over and stand inches from his face to hear what he had to say. But they were brilliant together. An unstoppable force. They were such an amazing example of partners loving and supporting each other in everything they did, something I try to model in my marriage.
They had such limited time left together, but rather than saving it for each other – which no one would have blamed them for – they shared their gifts, passion and love with all of us. And when they won the SCIAC championship together, as partners, it was one of the best moments of my life. David passed away the following summer, probably not more than six months after that game. He, Jodie and their boys shared so much of their lives with us. I will never forget it.
So like I said, I didn't remember the team we played, or what the score was, but I will always remember my teammates and my coaches and the lasting imprint each one left on my life.
2000-01 Women's Basketball Roster
Head Coach: Jodie Burton
Assistant Coaches: Carol Jue, Joel Monge, Dianna Turner, Andee Whalen, David Wells
Rebekah Chee (Jr., Wing, CMC)
Felicia Davis (Sr., Guard, CMC)
Colleen Donlan (So., Post, CMC)
Sophie Donnelly (Jr., Forward, CMC)
Holly Echeverria (Jr., Guard, CMC)
Aubrey Edgmon (Sr., Forward, CMC)
Lisa Glendenning (Jr., Guard, CMC)
Anne Hermreck (Fr., Forward, CMC)
Kristina Philbrick (So., Guard, CMC)
Anthony Tarne (Sr., practice player, CMC)