Athenas Charge Into New Year On High Note

CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's basketball team ended the 2017 calendar year with a 56-47 victory over the Webster Gorloks on New Year's Eve. Maya Love (CMC) finished with her sixth double-double of the season, grabbing 13 rebounds and scoring 16 points in the victory. Kailee Severt (CMC) scored a game-high 17 points to pace the offense with Love.

Webster featured a high-pressure, full-court defense for the entirety of Sunday's contest and forced 26 turnovers as a result. The Athenas also turned up their pressure in the half-court, collecting 11 steals in the game and forcing a total of 21 Webster turnovers.

The game started at a breakneck pace, with the two teams combining for 12 points in the first 72 seconds of play. Webster connected on a pair of three-pointers on their first two possessions while Severt made a triple and an old-fashion three-point-play on the first two trips down the floor for CMS. With the game tied 6-6 after just a minute and change, the scoring slowed down considerably for both squads.

With CMS leading 14-10 late in the period, Severt knocked down her second three of the quarter to give the Athenas a 17-10 lead after the opening period.

Webster got off to a hot start in the second quarter, using a 10-0 run to take a 20-17 lead midway through the period. The Athenas responded and ended the quarter with a 15-9 run over the final 4:40 of the half to take a 32-29 lead into the break.

The third quarter provided little offense for the Gorloks and Athenas. CMS and Webster combined to go just 7-24 from the field (29.2%) en route to 15 total points in the period. The low-scoring stanza allowed the Gorloks to tie the game at 38-38 at the end of the third quarter.

A back-and-forth fourth quarter started with the Gorloks taking a 41-38 lead following a three from Megan Brandt. The Athenas climbed back over the next four minutes and, following a layup from Gloria Bates (CMC), took the lead back at 46-45.

After a long two from Ellery Koelker-Wolfe (CMC), the CMS lead was up to three at 48-45. A layup and a pair of free throws from Webster, put the Gorloks back on top at 49-48 with 2:36 remaining.

Maya Love then made a layup and Kailee Severt followed with a three. The quick, five-point burst put the Athenas up 53-49 with under two minutes left in the contest. The game remained 53-49 until Severt knocked down a trio of free throws in the final 15 seconds to seal the victory.

The 56-49 victory improves the Athenas to 9-2 on the season. CMS will next take the floor on Wednesday when they jump back into conference play with a game against the La Verne Leopards at 7:00 p.m. Due to construction at La Verne, Wednesday's game will be played at Life Pacific College in San Dimas, Calif.