CLAREMONT, Calif. — Clarissa Perez scored 16 fourth quarter points, Kayla Chism tied her career-high with 17 points, and the University of La Verne women's basketball team surged in the second half on their way to a 92-79 road win over the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens.
Season Impact: The Leopards improve to 3-5 in SCIAC play and 4-12 overall. More importantly, the win keeps La Verne in the running for the SCIAC's fourth and final spot in the Postseason Tournament. The Leopards are currently tied for fifth place with both Whittier and Occidental. La Verne beat both squads in their first matchup earlier this year.
Pomona-Pitzer drops to 4-12 overall and 2-6 in conference play.
"We stuck to our game plan," said women's basketball Head Coach Jason Pruitt. "We took our first open shot, played defense, and didn't foul."
Perez finished with a team-high 33 points and seven rebounds. This is the fifth time the junior has scored at least 30 points this season. The guard also went 9-10 from the line.
Chism had a big day, going 8-13 from the field and grabbed five rebounds. Her 17 points are a season-high for the senior.
After the Leopards and Sagehens went into the break tied 42-42, La Verne came out firing at the start of the third quarter going on a 10-0 run to start the period.
Ani Uikilifi got the scoring started with a layup and Janice Deguerio followed it up with one of her three three-pointers. The Leopards never trailed the rest of the way.
Bailey Kurahashi finished in double figures scoring 11 points. Deguerio added nine points with six rebounds.
Alexa Withers led La Verne with eight rebounds.
Emma Godfrey led the Sagehens with 38 points.
Next Up: The Leopards next host the Cal Lutheran Regals this Saturday at 4 p.m. Saturday's game will be a White Out, fans are encouraged to wear all white to the game.
