The University of Redlands women's basketball team came from 21-points down on Tuesday evening and climbed all the way back in the final seconds to secure a dramatic Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) victory over Occidental College, 45-42.  Despite a tough first half of shooting, the Bulldogs remained unfazed and fought all the way until the final whistle in regulation en route to winning their 2013-14 conference opener.

Playing its first SCIAC contest of the campaign in Eagle Rock, Redlands scored the game's first two points on a pair of converted free-throws from junior forward Nicole Packard (Thousand Oaks, CA).

After the two sides traded a few buckets, U of R senior forward Madison Sanders-Curry (San Jose, CA) made a layup with 10:02 remaining in the first stanza, making it a 9-10 ballgame in favor of the Tigers.

The Maroon and Gray went cold for the remainder of the half, however, not making another field goal and only gaining two additional points from senior guard Marika Staton (El Centro, CA) via the charity stripe.  During those first 20 minutes, the Bulldogs went just 3-of-26 from the field, but did make 5-of-6 free throws.  While leading by as many as 21 points late in the first stanza, the Tigers held the advantage at the halftime break, 30-11.

Knowing it needed a big second half in order to have any chance of making a comeback, the U of R came out of the locker room firing, and senior guard Colleen Goeser (San Carlos, CA) nailed a jumper six seconds into the second period.

Sanders-Curry, senior forward Brittany Oster (Agoura Hills, CA), and Staton combined to score the next eight points for the Bulldogs, as the team allowed only two points against to cut the deficit to a manageable 11 points.

Staton then drained a pair of long-range efforts over the next few minutes, and midway through the second half, the Bulldogs were within five.  Redlands used another offensive spurt with a couple of baskets from Goeser and Sanders-Curry to take a one-point lead with 7:09 remaining in regulation.

But Occidental responded immediately, scoring four points over the next minute to regain the advantage.  Redlands junior guard Kaity Lykins (Simi Valley, CA) put the Bulldogs back in front with a layup and a jumper with five minutes remaining, shifting the momentum back to the road squad.

However, the Tigers converted on a couple of late opportunities, and with two minutes left held a three-point advantage.  Bulldog sophomore forward Brinsley Farry (Ventura, CA) made a key layup to cut the Tigers' lead to just one, and then Redlands made a couple of critical defensive stops.

Still trailing by one point with 50 seconds left, Sanders-Curry stole the ball for Redlands.  Then, with only 28 ticks remaining on the scoreboard, she came up clutch again and made the go-ahead layup to push the Bulldogs in front, 43-42.

On Occidental's next offensive possession, Lykins applied the defensive pressure for a big steal for the Bulldogs, and after being fouled, converted both shots from the free-throw line to put Redlands up by three points with seven seconds remaining.

The Tigers had one final opportunity to try and tie the game, but U of R junior guard Kameran Dage (Walnut Creek, CA) blocked the Tigers' long-range effort, ending the game.

On the night, Sanders-Curry filled up the stat sheet with 10 points on an efficient 5-for-7 shooting effort while also grabbing a team-best nine rebounds, four steals, and one block.  Off the bench, Staton also scored 10 points, including a 2-for-4 effort from downtown.  In addition, Goeser notched six points on the evening while dishing out a game-high five assists.

While experiencing a tough shooting night overall from the field, Redlands did take advantage of its superior free-throw shooting, making 11-of-13 from the charity stripe.  Moreover, the Bulldog defense locked down in the second stanza, allowing just 12 points to Occidental, and on the night, held the Tigers (2-2, 0-1 SCIAC) to shooting just 27.1% from the field as a team.

The Bulldogs (3-2, 1-0 SCIAC) return to conference play on Thursday, December 5, when they host Chapman University (2-1, 0-0 SCIAC).  Tip-off in Currier Gym is set for 7:30 p.m.  If you can't make it to the game, be sure to follow the action via live stats and the live-video stream.