The University of Redlands women's basketball team lost in heartbreaking fashion in the semifinals of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Postseason Tournament to Chapman University on Thursday evening, 62-64. Despite leading by 11 points at the halftime break, the Bulldogs could not hold on, resulting in the difficult two-point defeat.
The Maroon and Gray began the first half cold on the offensive end, but solid defense held the Panthers to just two points through the first six minutes. When Redlands junior guard Marika Staton (El Centro, CA) drained a three-pointer at the 13:13-mark, the Bulldogs led by a score of 10-5.
The U of R then extended that advantage after junior guard Colleen Goeser (San Carlos, CA) and senior forward Chelsea Katsch (Davis, CA) hit back-to-back jumpers, making it a 14-7 advantage.
The Panthers cut into the Bulldog lead, and with 4:49 remaining in the stanza, had the deficit down to just three points. Redlands senior guard Ashley Sevilla (San Diego, CA) immediately responded for the Bulldogs, nailing a shot from beyond the arc to push the advantage back to six points. Subsequently, the next time down the floor for Redlands, Goeser sank a jump-shot for a 27-19 lead.
As time expired in the first stanza, Bulldog junior forward Madison Sanders-Curry (San Jose, CA) beat the clock and hit a key jumper to give Redlands a 33-22 advantage as the teams entered the locker rooms. Efficient offense for Redlands led to a 50.0% field-goal performance during the first 20 minutes, while stifling defense forced the Panthers into 14 turnovers and a shooting percentage of just 26.7%.
However, the Panthers used a strong start to the second half to cut the lead down to just four points by the 15:33-mark.
Redlands settled in after giving up the early offensive spurt to the Panthers, and with 9:08 left in regulation, Sevilla hit her second long-range shot of the game to push the advantage back to five points. The Panthers continued to claw back and eventually retook the lead with 6:27 left in the second frame when Kimi Takaoka knocked down a jumper.
Staton provided the answer for the Maroon and Gray, nailing another shot from downtown to make it a 52-50 game in favor of the Bulldogs. The next few minutes saw Sanders-Curry sink a couple of clutch jump-shots for Redlands, and with 3:39 remaining, the score was tied at 58-58.
With just under two minutes to play, Goeser came up with another big shot, nailing a midrange jumper to put the Bulldogs up, 62-60. The Panthers took the lead back a minute later, however, when they scored on an and-one opportunity.
The next time down the floor, a missed three-point jumper forced Redlands to foul, sending Chapman to the free-throw line. After making only one of two free throws and then turning the ball back over to Redlands, the Bulldogs had one final opportunity to tie or win the game.
Staton received the inbounds pass and got off a last-gasp desperation jumper, but it hit the front of the rim and fell short.
While both teams shot relatively well from the field on the night, the difference proved to be at the charity stripe. Redlands was extremely efficient, shooting 75.0% at the line, but only gained four opportunities. The Panthers, on the other hand, went to the charity stripe 25 times, making 15 of their chances.
Oster led the way for Redlands with 12 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field, while Staton provided 11 points off the bench in addition to grabbing three rebounds and three steals. Additionally, Sevilla chipped in 10 points and Sanders-Curry registered a team-high eight rebounds to go along with eight points.
Redlands concludes the season with a 19-7 record after advancing to the SCIAC Postseason Tournament for the sixth-straight year. With the exception of Head Coach Rich Murphy's first season at the helm, the Bulldogs have finished in one of the top-two spots of the regular-season standings in the conference.