CMS Women's Basketball Knocks Off Chapman, Moves Into Second-Place Tie

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Ariana Dalia had 17 points, Katie Resendiz had 15 and Mary Markaryan added 12 as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's basketball team, with only seven players dressed, used a big effort from its frontcourt to take a 75-60 win over Chapman on Wednesday night at Roberts Pavilion.

Jacey Carter added 13 to give the Athenas four players in double figures, as CMS improves to 15-6 overall and 11-3 in the SCIAC. Coupled with Redlands' loss to Whittier, the Athenas are now in a tie with Redlands for second place in the SCIAC, with a game at the Bulldogs on Wednesday potentially serving as a battle for the No. 2 seed and home court advantage in the SCIAC Semifinals. Chapman slips to 10-12 overall and 5-9 in league play with the loss. 

The pivotal stretch came in the third quarter as the Athenas looked the fresher team after halftime despite only having two substitutes available and four players injured, and playing against a Panther team pressing full court for most of the game. Chapman closed to within 44-40 with 6:15 to go in the third, and had several shots to cut it even closer, but the Athenas blitzed the Panthers with a 14-0 run that took less than two and a half minutes. 

Resendiz started the run with a layup with exactly four minutes left in the third, then had a block, a defensive rebound, and another basket to make it 48-40. Dalia had a steal and fed Sadie Heckman for a fast-break lay-up to make it a 50-40 game and force a Chapman timeout at the 2:54 mark. The momentum stayed with CMS, though, as Resendiz scored again to stretch it to 12 off a Dalia feed, and then Carter hit two straight threes 25 seconds apart to suddenly make the score 58-40 with 1:33 still left in the third. 

Markaryan closed out the third with a layup to make it 60-41 heading into the fourth, and then opened the fourth with a jumper in the paint to make it a 21-point game. CMS was able to cruise from there with a comfortable lead before setting for a 15-point final margin. 

Ava Grey knocked down three three-pointers for nine points, as CMS almost had five players in double figures on the day. The Athenas also turned the ball over only nine times against the Chapman press, while finishing with 15 assists. Resendiz had three blocked shots and two steals, and Dalia had three steals and two blocks to lead the Athena defensive effort. 

CMS will be back in action against Occidental on the road on Saturday, before closing out with the key road game at Redlands next Wednesday.