Box Score CLAREMONT, CA. – The Pomona-Pitzer Women's Basketball team defeated Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) rival CMS 80-78 in game one of the Sixth Street Rivalry on Wednesday night at Voelkel Gymnasium.
Season Impact: with the win, the Sagehens improve to 4-4 on the year and start the year 2-0 in the SCIAC. This win marks the first regular season and home win over CMS for the Sagehens since 2012.
Pomona-Pitzer was led by sophomore Carly Leong who tallied 22 points and seven rebounds in the win. Sophomore Kamil English came off of the bench for 19 points while sophomore Amara Chidom ended with 12 points and seven rebounds and sophomore Renae Tamura ended with nine points and nine assists.
The Athenas came out and jumped ahead early on in the first quarter after scoring the first seven points of the games. The Sagehens slowly chipped away at the lead and brought the game to within one point at 15-14 after sophomore Vanessa Hsia hit a jumper with 2:23 remaining but CMS was able to hang on late in the quarter to hold a 21-18 lead.
Much like the start of the first, the Athenas controlled the game early on in the second quarter. The Sagehens stayed close throughout the second quarter and took their first lead of the game with 2:32 left before halftime after Chidom made a layup to lead 36-35. Pomona-Pitzer kept the lead for the remainder of the half but CMS ended the second quarter with a buzzer beater layup to cut the Sagehens' lead down to 40-39 at the break.
CMS came out of halftime and had their best quarter of the game as they scored a game-high 22 points in the quarter while limiting the Sagehens to their lowest point quarter of the game with just 14. The Athenas took back the lead at 45-44 with just under seven minutes left in the third and ended up extending their lead throughout the quarter to hold a 61-54 advantage heading into the fourth.
Pomona-Pitzer came alive in the fourth quarter and dropped a game-high 26 points in the final quarter of play. The Sagehens got within striking distance early on in the quarter but CMS began to pull away midway through the fourth as they extended the lead to 73-66. Pomona-Pitzer got back into the game after consecutive and-one baskets by Tamura and Leong and after two made free-throws by English, we were all tied up at 76-76 with 2:45 to play.
The Sagehens pulled ahead after a Leong layup and after CMS answered with a basket of their own, two clutch free-throws by English gave the Sagehens a two-point lead with 41 seconds left. The Athenas had a chance to tie late in the game but the Sagehen defense stayed strong and hung on for the big win at home.
Up Next: The Sagehens will next host non-conference opponent Lewis & Clark on December 29th at 3:00 p.m.
