CMS Women's Basketball Has Another Tight Battle, Falls to Whitworth 58-53

CLAREMONT, Calif. - For the second straight day, the CMS women's basketball team battled back from an early hole for a fourth quarter lead, but came up just short down the stretch as it dropped a 58-53 decision to Whitworth on Saturday on the second day of the David Wells Classic on Saturday afternoon at Roberts Pavilion.

CMS, which fell 54-51 to Willamette yesterday in a similar contest, slips to 2-4 on the young season, while Whitworth improves to 3-3 with the win. 

Austyn Masuno led CMS with 14 points on 7-11 shooting, but was held without a double-double for the first time this season, ending with six rebounds. Kayla Ishibashi was also in double figures for the Athenas with 11 points. 

CMS trailed 32-25 at the half, but flipped the script in the third quarter as it picked up its defensive intensity. After Whitworth ran a successful backdoor play on its first possession to take a 34-25 lead, the Athenas outscored the Pirates 16-5 the rest of the way to take a 41-39 lead heading into the fourth. Flora Durgerian, who sat much of the first half in foul trouble, helped swing the momentum with three steals in the first five minutes of the third quarter. 

Masuno gave CMS a 43-42 lead with 7:38 left off a feed from Jocelyn Song, but Whitworth led the rest of the way after converting the next two baskets. Song hit a tough jumper with 5:17 left to make it 46-45, but Whitworth scored the next four points to go ahead by five. 

Durgerian drove and hit a short jumper along the right block to cut the lead to 50-47, and Song made a left-handed runner to close to 52-49 with 2:25 left. After the Pirates split two foul shots, Masuno hit a short jumper to make it 53-51, but Macey Morales found Devyn Cope for a lay-up with 31 seconds left, and the Athenas weren't able to answer, as the Pirates held on for the win. 

Despite the defeat CMS was able to put together strong stretches of defensive effort in the second half, holding Whitworth to 2-14 over a 12-minute stretch as it came from behind to take the lead. The Athenas will look to carry that over to conference play this week, as they travel to Redlands on Wednesday for their first SCIAC game, and then host Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday at 7 p.m.