Women's Basketball Can't Stop #1 CMS
By Joe Gill
Staff Writer

Despite the support of a strong and rowdy crowd, the Pomona-Pitzer women's basketball team ran out of gas on Tuesday night in their loss to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Dominant shooting by the Athenas proved too much to handle in a 69-50 home defeat.

Waving orange and blue pom-poms, Pomona-Pitzer supporters displayed their spirit by filling the stands for the opening tip-off. This seemed to spark the Sagehens' efforts as they started with aggressive play and tough defense. Backed by the shot making of captain Tamara Zakim '03 and the rebounding of Lindsay Hill '04, Pomona-Pitzer cruised to an early 6-2 lead.

For the next ten minutes, both teams played with the focus and intensity that was expected in this rivalry match, and it resembled the pace of the overtime game played in Claremont's gym three weeks ago. Amid the "Defense-Defense" cheers from the crowd, the teams exchanged baskets at both ends of the court. After converting a pair of free throws, the Athenas managed to take a 15-12 lead with 8:12 left in the first half.

It was at this point that CMS flexed their muscles. On three consecutive drives, guard Kristen Fong netted a trio of finger rolls while driving the lane. This helped the Athenas generate a 10-4 run, putting them up 25-16 with less than three minutes to go in the half.
Needing to close the gap, Pomona-Pitzer responded to CMS's charge. Monica Archuleta '03 sunk two free throws and a field goal to keep the Hens alive. After a defensive stop, Archuleta then swished a clutch three-point shot with seconds left in the first half to bring Pomona-Pitzer within four points. With the Athenas leading only by four point with a score of 29-25, head coach Kathy Connell brought her fired-up players into the locker room to discuss the upcoming twenty minutes.

As the second half commenced, the Sagehens failed to maintain their control of the game, giving up six points in the first three minutes. Pomona-Pitzer attempted to hack away at their ten point deficit on a hook shot by Hill. Zakim then added to her game high 23 points with a pretty fadeaway baseline jumper. With 13:12 remaining, the Hens cut CMS's lead to just five points with a score of 40-35.

Unfortunately, this was the closest the Sagehens would come for the rest of the night. The Athenas responded to Pomona-Pitzer's charge with a run of their own. During the next six minutes, CMS scored seven unanswered points. The Sagehens could not cope with the Athenas' outstanding field goal shooting and consistent defense. Also, Pomona-Pitzer's lack of substitutes really showed, as CMS outhustled the Hens by aggressively pressing every inbounds pass. The Athenas forced the Hens to commit 21 turnovers, compared to their own 12.

For the remainder of the game, the Athenas continued their unstoppable shooting. CMS guard Kasey Nekoba drained a three point basket with 6:50 remaining, increasing their lead to twelve points. Fong then put the game out of reach on a hard drive down the middle of Pomona-Pitzer's defense. Getting fouled on the play, Fong made the lay-up along with the free throw. With 3:26 left in the game, the Athenas led 62-45 and the fate of the game was sealed.

Fong led the CMS effort with 18 points. For the Hens, Zakim had a double-double on the night with a game high 12 rebounds, 23 points and 4 blocked shots. Hill contributed nine points, along with four assists. Archuleta also chipped in with eight points.

The major factor of the game was CMS's hot field goal shooting, going 46 percent from the floor. The Athenas, a team with no single dominant player, had six players score in the opening half of the game and three finishing with double digits. Excellent ball movement, an effective half court trap, and balanced team offense gave the Athenas their first victory in nine years on the Hen's home court. The win over Pomona-Pitzer leaves Claremont in a three-way tie for first place in SCIAC. Redlands and La Verne also currently hold a 9-2 record with four games left to play in the season.

The league loss to Claremont dropped the Sagehens to 3-8 in SCIAC, and 4-16 overall. With three games left in SCIAC, Pomona-Pitzer plans to recover from this defeat and prove that their losing record is not indicative of their talent. The Hens hope to secure a win tonight at 7:30 in their away game against La Verne. Looking ahead, Pomona-Pitzer faces Cal-Tech at home on Wednesday. The Sagehens previously beat Cal-Tech by a score of 86-16. Pomona-Pitzer plays La Sierra in their last home game on Thursday.