Finals Week! CMS Women's Basketball Advances to SCIAC Championship with 71-66 Win at Whittier

WHITTIER, Calif. - Junior point guard Maezelle Millan had 18 points and six assists as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's basketball team used a 10-0 run to build a 10-point fourth quarter lead and held on down the stretch to take a 71-66 road win over Whittier in the SCIAC Semifinals on Thursday evening at the Graham Athletic Center.

With the win, CMS improves to 18-7 overall on the year and advances to the SCIAC finals for the seventh season in a row, although this is the first time in that stretch where the Athenas had to go on the road in the semifinals to advance. Whittier, which tied CMS with an 11-5 SCIAC record during the regular season, ends its season at 17-8. 

CMS will advance to play at Redlands on Saturday night in the SCIAC Championship game for the right to advance to the NCAA Tournament. The Athenas almost ended up with an unexpected home game in the finals, but fourth-seeded Pomona-Pitzer couldn't quite upset the top-seeded Bulldogs, falling 53-51 in a game that came right down to the final shot. 



Millan, who was one shy of her career-high of 19 points set at Pomona-Pitzer earlier this season, had a huge role in helping CMS turn a 39-39 tie late in the third quarter into a 49-39 early in the fourth with a timely 10-0 run. She started the spurt with a tough running jump shot on the edge of the paint, then broke down the defense for a driving layup with 1:11 left in the third to make it 43-39. She then had a steal and led a fast break, feeding sophomore forward Flora Durgerian, who was fouled and hit two free throws to push the lead to six. 

Junior forward Kate Parrish made two foul shots to end the third quarter with CMS up by eight, and then senior forward Lindsey Cleary hit an 18-foot jumper to start the fourth and give the Athenas their largest lead at 49-39. 

Whittier kept battling back, though, as Teani White hit two foul shots to close the gap to 51-45, but first-year guard Jacey Carter caught the Poet defense backing off her and spotted up for an unassisted three-pointer to push the lead to nine. Two White foul shots closed Whittier to within 59-55 with 3:55 to go, but Cleary hit a foul shot and then fed senior guard Gloria Bates for an 18-foot jumper to get CMS back in front 62-55 at the 2:25 mark. 

The Poets were still within 64-59 with 58 seconds left after a Dallas Martinez layup, but Millan hit two foul shots to make it a three-possesion game.  Martinez hit two foul shots with 21 seconds left to give Whittier one final chance, but Bates went 4-for-4 at the line on two straight CMS possessions to seal it. 

Whittier had some early momentum in the first half, pulling ahead 14-8 on a Daisy Cardenas three-pointer with 46 seconds left in the first, but Cleary hit two foul shots to make it 14-10 heading into the second. Senior guard Lauren Longo then hit back-to-back three-pointers 56 seconds apart, getting fouled on the second for a four-point play, to give CMS a 17-14 lead and help the Athenas right the ship. 

"That response is just something we've been carrying with us the whole season," said Longo of the 9-0 run when the Whittier faithful was at its loudest. "They're going to get runs, we're going to get runs. We just have to capitalize on our runs and stop their runs really quickly."

In addition to Millan's 18 points, Longo and Cleary each finished with 13 to give the Athenas three players in double figures, while Parrish was close to a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds. Teani White led all scorers with 23 points, but Longo and company made her work hard for her points, as she finished 5-16 from the field. 

CMS will be facing Redlands for the third time this season, and the first two both resulted in narrow Bulldog wins. The first was a 49-47 final at Roberts Pavilion back on Jan. 15, and the second was a 54-49 final at Redlands on Feb. 19. Longo is excited for the third matchup, which will be for the championship. 

"I think everyone is ready," said Longo. "We're going to give everything we have. I think we're all excited to get after it on Saturday, for sure."