CLAREMONT, Calif. - Caleigh Edwards had 18 points and nine rebounds, including the defensive rebound and two foul shots with nine seconds left to seal it, as the second-seeded Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's basketball team rallied from 16 down in the first half to take a 59-54 win over third-seeded Pomona-Pitzer on Thursday evening in the SCIAC Tournament Semifinals at Roberts Pavilion. 

With the win, CMS improves to 19-7 overall and moves on to the SCIAC Championship game on Saturday at top-seeded Cal Lutheran, which won its semifinal over fourth-seeded Redlands on Thursday. Pomona-Pitzer, which won both regular season meetings with the Athenas, sees its season come to a close at 16-10. 

Tanya Ghai had 17 points and Haylie Wang and Katie Resendiz each added 11 for the Athenas, while Jadyn Lee led all players with 23 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for Pomona-Pitzer. 

CMS went down 31-15 on a fast-break three-pointer from Sara Chicco with 5:02 left in the half, but the Athenas were able to get back within 34-24 at the break on a Ghai runner in the lane. CMS then opened the second half on a 14-0 run to surge in front. Edwards started the comeback with a driving lay-up and then Wang knocked down a three-pointer to close the gap to 34-29.  

After the Athenas hit four straight foul shots, Ghai converted a three-pointer play on a driving lay-up to go ahead 36-34, and Edwards capped off the 16-0 run spanning both halves with a layup. CMS maintained a 42-40 lead after three quarters, but the Sagehens were able to pull back even at 45-45. 

It was still just a one-point game at 55-54, when Edwards converted on a backdoor layup on a feed from Wang with 1:16 to go. After the Sagehens earned possession and called timeout with 25 seconds left, they were able to get a look at a tying three-pointer from the top of the key, but it caromed off the rim and Edwards pulled down the rebound in traffic and was fouled, hitting both foul shots to make it a five-point game. 

Pomona-Pitzer hit a three-pointer with four seconds left that would have cut it to two, but an illegal screen was called to negate the shot, and CMS was able to take the hard-fought win and move on to its first SCIAC Championship since 2020 (an overtime defeat at Redlands). 

CMS and Cal Lutheran split during the regular season, with the Regals winning overtime on their home floor in the most recent contest. The winner of Saturday's game will receive the SCIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship.