On Saturday evening, the University of Redlands women's basketball team won a thriller over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in double overtime, 62-61. In front of 386 excited fans in Currier Gym on Family Fun Night, the Bulldogs drained a last-second three-pointer to send the game to overtime and then sank the winning free throw with four seconds remaining in the second overtime.
With both teams struggling offensively, the Bulldogs finally scored their first basket at the 15:23-mark when junior forward Brittany Oster (Agoura Hills, CA) made a jumper. With 13:20 left in the first stanza, Redlands faced a four-point deficit at 4-8 and continued to search for its offensive rhythm.
From that point on, the Maroon and Gray closed the half on a 16-8 run to take a four-point lead into the halftime break.
Neither team shot particularly well during the first 20 minutes, as the Bulldogs recorded a 25.0% field-goal percentage and the Athenas registered a 22.2% shooting percentage.
At the beginning of the second half, both teams came out firing, trading buckets while getting up and down the court. Midway through the period, CMS junior guard Madeline Barnes (Kenmore, WA) sank a three-pointer to give the Athenas a two-point advantage at 31-29.
Bulldog freshman forward Ashton Beth (Windsor, CA) responded immediately for Redlands, scoring a layup to tie the game at 31-31.
In a tough, defensive battle, made baskets were at a premium, so when Redlands senior guard Ashley Sevilla (San Diego, CA) and sophomore guard Claire Stach (Portland, OR) made consecutive jump shots down the stretch, the Bulldogs took a 40-36 lead with just over four minutes remaining in regulation.
However, CMS sank some clutch shots of their own over the final four minutes and had a three-point lead with just three seconds left in the clock.
U of R Head Coach Rich Murphy then called a timeout and drew up a play for senior guard Allison Wong (Redding, CA). The inbounds pass found Oster, who quickly dished the ball to Wong. Wong then launched a shot from downtown that hit nothing but net with 0.1 seconds left on the clock, sending the Currier faithful into a frenzy.
There was insufficient time for a CMS shot, resulting in the subsequent overtime period.
In the first overtime, the Athenas once again got off to a quicker start, and with 2:08 left in the period, CMS owned a 53-48 lead.
Once again resilient, Redlands tied the game at 53-53 when junior guard Marika Staton (El Centro, CA) sank a shot from beyond the arc.
CMS regained the lead when graduate guard Aria Krumwiede (Scottsdale, AZ) made a jumper with just 15 seconds remaining. Following the made basket, Staton sprinted down the floor with the ball, beat a couple of Athena defenders, and found Oster, who made no mistake and converted a layup to tie the game at 55-55 with just eight seconds left in the period.
Neither team got off another shot, sending the contest to a second overtime.
During the final overtime period, Redlands took a quick four-point lead after Oster and Stach made back-to-back jump shots.
The teams continued to battle, and with 0:56 left in the second overtime, CMS converted a layup opportunity to even the score once again, this time at 61 apiece.
With four ticks left on the clock, Maroon and Gray junior guard Colleen Goeser (San Carlos, CA) stole the ball from the Athenas and was then fouled, sending Goeser to the free-throw line.
Poised at the charity stripe, Goeser sank the first free throw, putting the U of R in front by one. She then missed the second shot from the line, and after the CMS grabbed the rebound and went down the floor, Krumwiede was fouled by Redlands with just one second left, sending her to the line with a chance to win it.
Krumwiede missed the front end of a one-and-one, free-throw opportunity, ending the game after the Bulldogs grabbed the rebound.
The win was critical for Redlands, as it helped the squad to keep pace with the other top teams in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC). The Bulldogs now sit in fourth place with a 4-2 conference record, while each team above the Maroon and Gray has lost only one game.
On the night, the Bulldogs won the free-throw battle, going 9-of-18 from the line as opposed to just 7-of-15 for the Athenas. Redlands also out-rebounded CMS, 54-43, which included 21 offensive boards for the Maroon and Gray.
Staton led all Redlands scorers with 14 points in addition to grabbing seven boards and dishing out five assists. Stach chipped in 12 points and six rebounds, while Oster recorded another double-double with 11 points and 10 boards on top of five assists.
Additionally, Goeser scored 10 and grabbed eight boards, while Wong added a valuable six points, including the late-three pointer to send the game into overtime.
The Maroon and Gray (10-4, 4-2 SCIAC) take to the road on Thursday evening when it faces off against Chapman University. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Orange.
