Claremont, CA - The University of La Verne traveled across town to face off against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps College. The Leopards looked to continue their win streak against one of the toughest teams in the conference.

The Leopards started strong, dominating in the first quarter. CMS battled in the second quarter. The second half was no different for the Leopards; despite the continuous battle, CMS ultimately fell to the well-rounded Leopards 85-57. La Verne had a total of five players in double-digits. Dejanee Gill led the Leopards with 18 points and one rebound shy from a double-double. Chiara Brown had a double-double having 11 points and 11 rebounds. Marissa Howell displayed her offensive ability with 18 points and four assists. Head coach Jason Pruitt spoke about the historical importance of the game played at C-M-S. "Tonight, was a good night for our conference.  It probably was the first time in SCIAC history where two African American Head Coaches faced off when both of their teams were competing for sole possession of first place.  If it doesn't happen again, it happened tonight.  CMS is a well-coached team that we will have to face again.  Tonight, we wanted to execute our game plan.  We wanted to show that we are a balanced team, and the box score reflects that point.  All the teams in our conference still have 10 league games left, that's a lot of time for anything to happen.  From our standpoint we just want to continue to get better every day and compete.  Focusing on the small details will give us a chance to be successful.  Our coaching staff does an excellent job preparing our team for each contest.  Our team has done a good job of being coachable and eager to learn each day.  We are just thankful that "The Man Up Above" is blessing us with the opportunity to play the game that we love."

The Leopards remain in first place in conference play and will face off against the Chapman Panthers Saturday, January 7th, at 2:00 PM at The Tents.