CLAREMONT — It would be an oxymoron to say a rivalry is both heated and friendly.

But what if it involves a pair of best friends coaching on opposing benches, sisters potentially guarding each other, and it's a rematch of the 2010-11 SCIAC championship game?

When the Occidental College women's basketball (12-2, 4-0 SCIAC) team travels to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (9-6, 3-1 SCIAC) on Thursday night, that's exactly what the game will feature.

Occidental coach Heidi VanDerveer goes up against her pal Jodie Burton of CMS and Oxy junior guard Stephanie Scamman will compete in the backcourt against little sister Kim Scamman — freshman starting point guard for the Athenas.

To add another twist, VanDerveer's assistant Besty Butterick played two years for Burton from 2005-06. She was a starter, captain and twice an All-SCIAC selection.

Off of the court there are some relationships that go much further than 94 feet, but on it you can't find two teams more competitive in the SCIAC.

"They're such an established program. They've been the benchmark of consistency in the SCIAC," VanDerveer said of CMS. "You know when you play Claremont you have to play well to win. So it's a big game in that respect."

In their careers, VanDerveer and Burton have been as successful as they are friendly.

VanDerveer, younger sister of Stanford University women's basketball coach Tara VanDerveer, has more than 20 years of professional and collegiate coaching experience, recently highlighted by a perfect three SCIAC championships in three seasons at Oxy.

Burton has been with CMS since nearly the beginning of women's basketball in the conference, winning 285 league games in her 32 years. Earlier this year, after Burton won her 500^th career game, VanDerveer met up with her to celebrate the momentous occasion.

The Scamman sisters — both former Montclair Prep standouts from Northridge — could at times be matched up against each other in the backcourt. Stephanie is a 6.4 point-per-game scorer and Kim has found her niche as the Athenas top guard. When the ball goes up at 7:30 p.m. at CMS it will be the first time Stephanie and Kim have ever played against each other in organized basketball.

BY THE NUMBERS

They know each other so well that VanDerveer had Stephanie give the team the inside scoop on her sister.

"We do a personnel (scout) on the starting five and key reserves," Stephanie said. "Heidi was like, 'Who knows a Scamman better than a Scamman.' So I did her personnel for her."

When she does get matched up on her sister, Stephanie said she'll treat it as if it's just another good SCIAC guard she's trying to stop.

"I'm just going to mentally transition to she's not my sister right now. I'm not going to give her leeway because she's my sister and I'm not going to try to play even harder," Stephanie said. "Mentally I'm just going to prepare myself for another offensive player. Know her strengths and weaknesses and do my best to stop her."

Stopping her will be tough. Kim is putting up some impressive numbers in her first year, averaging 10.5 points per game and 4.4 rebounds, with a team-high 39 assists.

The last time the teams met, Oxy beat CMS 55-49 on Feb. 26, 2011, advancing to the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Then there's the significance of the game itself. A Tigers win preserves their undefeated SCIAC record and keeps them in a first-place tie with Redlands. A loss would bump Oxy out of first place, putting the Tigers into a tie for second with CMS.