CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's basketball team held Cal Lutheran to 1-18 shooting in the first quarter to build an 18-5 lead and held off the Regals the rest of the way to earn a big 59-48 home win on Wednesday evening at Roberts Pavilion. 

With the win, the Athenas improve to 13-2 and stay undefeated in the SCIAC at 7-0, maintaining sole possession of first place. Cal Lutheran, the preseason favorite to win the league, slips to 12-3 overall and 4-2 in SCIAC play with the loss. 

Caleigh Edwards led the way for CMS with 13 points and 13 rebounds for a double-double. Tanya Ghai had 12 points and Katie Resendiz added 10, with the two making three-pointers on consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter to stretch the lead from one to seven. 

Cal Lutheran fought back from a 14-point second quarter deficit to pull within 27-25 at the break, and tied the score to start the third, but were never able to take the lead. After the Athenas led 40-34 after three, Cal Lutheran twice got it to within one point in the fourth. Edwards pushed it back to three points on the first one with a tough layup in the paint with 8:02 left. 

After Cal Lutheran closed to within 42-41 with 7:15 to go, the Regals had two chances to take the lead, but couldn't convert. Ghai then hit a pull-up three-pointer with 6:11 to go, and blocked a Cal Lutheran three-point attempt at the other end. With the shot clock winding down, Katie Resendiz then pushed the lead back up to seven points with 5:23 remaining with a three-pointer from the top of the key. 

Laura Strenk extended the run to 8-0 with a driving layup to make it a nine-point lead, and Edwards went 4-4 at the line down the stretch to help put it away. 

Resendiz had a big effort on defense for CMS, recording four blocks and three steals, and helping to hold Cal Lutheran leading scorer Alline Ballard to just 4-12 shooting from the floor. 

CMS will be back in action on Friday morning at 11 a.m. for a non-conference game against Hardin-Simmons.