LA VERNE, Calif. - Caleigh Edwards had 20 points and 14 rebounds and Laura Strenk had a season-high 18 points on 6-8 shooting, as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's basketball team opened SCIAC play with an 82-68 win at La Verne on Wednesday evening. 

The win was the sixth in the row for the Athenas, who improve to 7-1 overall and start 1-0 in the SCIAC, while La Verne slips to 2-4 and 1-0 in the league. 

Tanya Ghai had 15 points and Renee Chong had 11 as the Athenas almost had all five starters in double figures, with Katie Resendiz chipping in with eight points on 4-7 shooting.

CMS jumped out to an 8-0 lead and never trailed, with Edwards scoring twice during the opening run, and Chong and Strenk each adding a basket as well. A three-pointer from Chong made it 15-5 at the 5:04 mark of the first quarter, and the Athenas closed out the opening frame with a 7-0 run to take a 24-10 lead. 

Strenk started the second quarter with a three-pointer and Ghai had a fast break lay-up to give CMS a 29-10 advantage, and extending the run to 12-0. Edwards gave CMS its largest lead of the first half with a three-pointer to make it 39-20, and Strenk capped off the half with a three-pointer to give CMS a 45-27 lead at the break. 

La Verne got within 11 points in the final minute of the third, but Katie Resendiz had a lay-up to give CMS a 63-50 lead heading into the fourth. The Leopards got it to a single-digit margin at 72-64 with 4:19 to go, but Cate Singler came up with a key three-point play to stop the momentum. Ghai then hit four foul shots, and Edwards added two to help CMS put it away at the line. 

Ghai had six assists as the Athenas finished with 15 assists and 11 turnovers as a team. Chong had four steals and Strenk added three, while Resendiz had two blocks and two steals defensively. 

CMS will be back in action on Saturday when it travels to Whittier for a 4 p.m. contest.