The University of Redlands women's basketball team battled it out with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in a showdown between the top two teams in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) on Saturday night. With neither squad converting more than 30% of its shots, the contest came down to defense and free-throws, with the outcome finishing in favor of the Athenas in a tight 49-44 decision.
Throughout the low-scoring first half, the Bulldogs earned a 15-12 lead when junior guard Kameran Dage (Walnut Creek, CA) knocked down a shot from beyond the arc with 9:12 to go.
Redlands stayed ahead until the one-minute mark, when CMS' Madeline Barnes' first free-throw successfully tied it up at 18 apiece. After Barnes' second attempt rimmed out, senior forward Madison Sanders-Curry (San Jose, CA) pulled in the important defensive rebound for the Bulldogs.
However, a series of three missed opportunities by the Maroon and Gray painfully illustrated the squad's tough shooting night.
With nine seconds left on the clock, Barnes put the Athenas ahead by one when she hit another free-throw, which finished the half at 19-18.
During the second stanza, CMS improved its shooting with a 10-4 run to take a 29-22 lead with 15:21 left in the game.
However, the Bulldogs answered with a 10-2 run of their own to tie it up at 32 apiece. Senior guard Colleen Goeser (San Carlos, CA) carried the Maroon and Gray, while Sanders-Curry and sophomore forward Brinsley Farry (Ventura, CA) bookended this stretch of scoring.
Redlands then fought for its first advantage of the second frame, finally moving out in front at 40-39 when senior forward Brittany Oster (Agoura Hills, CA) converted a pair of free-throws at the 4:53-mark.
Junior guard Kaity Lykins (Simi Valley, CA) extended the Maroon and Gray's lead to three by driving the basket for a lay-up.
But, the Athenas quickly answered with a 7-0 run that was capped off by Kyra Ray's only three-pointer of the game to make it 46-42 with 2:30 remaining on the clock.
Despite opportunities to score down the stretch, the Bulldogs never recovered the lead and suffered the tough five-point loss to fall into a tie for second place in the standings.
Goeser was the only Redlands player to score in double figures, recording 12 points on the night. She also dished out a game-high five assists.
Oster and Sanders-Curry pulled in 68% of the Bulldogs' rebounds and accounted for 10 of the team's 19 offensive boards. Sanders-Curry registered 19 total rebounds, which tie her for fourth all-time in Redlands' single-game history. Lykins also stepped up with eight boards, including six on the offensive end.
Sanders-Curry swatted four opponent shots for the Bulldogs.
Kimberly Scamman and Barnes both provided 13 points for the Athenas (15-2, 7-1 SCIAC).
Redlands (14-4, 7-2 SCIAC) takes on the Sagehens of Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in Currier Gym. Fans may follow the action via live stats and web-streaming at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/redlands.portal#.
