CLAREMONT, Calif. - The second-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's water polo team was within 7-6 of top-ranked Pomona-Pitzer in the third quarter, but the Sagehens used a 5-0 run to pull away and take a 12-7 win over the Athenas in the SCIAC Tournament championship game on Saturday at Haldeman Pool. 

Both teams will move on to the USA Water Polo Division III Championships, which will be held next week at Augustana College. The Athenas and Sagehens could meet in the finals for the third year in a row, which included an overtime win for Pomona-Pitzer at Augustana two years ago. 

Isabel Del Villar closed out the first half with a goal to make it a 7-5 game heading into the break, and started the second half with one with 6:16 left in the third quarter to close the gap to 7-6. The Sagehens were able to clamp down defensively, with Zosia Amberger making a couple of key saves in net, to stretch out the lead, before Jordan LaCour closed out the scoring with 58 seconds left. 

CMS got the early advantage with leads of 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 in the first quarter. Valerie Wraith opened the scoring with a power play goal 1:28 into the game, and Grace Clark answered a Sagehen goal to make it 2-1. After Pomona-Pitzer tied it, Wraith scored her second of the quarter to make it a 3-2 CMS lead, but Pomona-Pitzer scored the final two goals of the frame to take a 4-3 lead into the second. 

Elise Power stopped a 4-0 Pomona-Pitzer run with a goal with 2:37 left in the half to close the gap to 6-4, and Del Villar scored her first with 37 seconds left to get CMS within two at halftime.

CMS will try to win its first USA Water Polo title next weekend, as well as the first national title for the program since it captured the Collegiate III Nationals in 2001.