Hardin-Simmons holds off CMS Women's Basketball for 71-60 win

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Tanya Ghai had 14 points off the bench for the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's basketball team, but Hardin-Simmons was able to fight off the Athenas and hold on for a 71-60 win on Saturday afternoon in a neutral-site game played at Trinity University.

With the win, the Cowgirls move to 2-0 on the young season after a dominant opening-day win over Schreiner that saw them score 115 points. CMS slips to 0-3, but had a strong trip to Texas against two undefeated teams, battling No. 6 Trinity for most of the game yesterday before the Tigers pulled away in the fourth. 

Against Hardin-Simmons, CMS got off a quick start, pulling ahead 9-2 on a pair of foul shots from Kayla Ishibashi. Sadie Heckman restored a seven-point lead at 20-13 on a driving lay-up and the Athenas were able to take a 22-17 lead after the end of the first quarter.

Hardin-Simmons was able to take a 38-33 lead into the half, though, with a 19-7 spurt over the final eight minutes of the second quarter. Cate Shingler and Tanya Ghai had baskets to put CMS ahead 24-17 and 26-19, but Hardin-Simmons went in front for the first time at 29-28 with 4:41 left in the half. Syona Mandyam and Marley Ragsdale had late baskets, but the Cowgirls had the last basket of the half to take a five-point lead into the break.

CMS got back to within three points with 2:54 left in the third on a Katie Resendiz basket, before the Cowgirls stretched it up to seven at 58-51 at the end of the quarter. Marley Ragsdale and Heckman had baskets to close the gap to six with just over five minutes left, but a 7-0 Hardin-Simmons run effectively put the game away. 

Resendiz was also in double figures for CMS with 11 points, while Shingler was 3-3 from the floor for six points and Mary Markaryan had a team-high eight rebounds. 

CMS will be back in action when it hosts the David Wells Classic on Friday and Saturday, facing Vassar at Pomona-Pitzer's Voelkel Gymnasium on Friday at 4 p.m. and then meeting East Texas Baptist on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Roberts Pavilion.