The University of Redlands women's basketball team returned home to the friendly confines of Currier Gym on Saturday during "Family Fun Night" to face the Caltech Beavers in the squads' second Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) meeting of the season. With an impressive shooting display that included attempts by 16 different players, the Bulldogs cruised to a 100-54 victory, and reached the century mark for the first time under Head Coach Rich Murphy.
After Caltech nabbed an early 5-4 lead, Redlands quickly responded with a 24-5 run to garner a sizeable advantage less than halfway through the first half. During this stretch, the Bulldogs benefitted from an offense that was firing on all cylinders, as five different players scored at least one bucket. Senior guard Kameran Dage (Walnut Creek, CA) provided eight points after knocking down a pair of three-pointers and a lay-up.
About two minutes later, sophomore forward Nina Newman (San Mateo, CA) and senior forward Nicole Packard (Thousand Oaks, CA) joined in the scoring frenzy, before freshman guard Angela Silver (Scotts Valley, CA) sank the first of her four attempts of the game to make it 37-15 with 7:54 to go.
Redlands continued to dominate the offensive end of the floor, as the first stanza finished with a three-pointer by freshman guard Brooke Hulett (Poway, CA) for the Bulldogs' 51-25 halftime advantage.
The second half saw a similar success rate for the Maroon and Gray that allowed the team to extend its lead with nearly every possession. Senior forward Victoria Fakalata (East Palo Alto, CA) remained impressive in the low post, scoring the Bulldogs' first five points of the frame to create a 30-point advantage.
A few minutes later, Packard stepped back behind the arc to nail a three-pointer, before senior guard Kaity Lykins (Simi Valley, CA) went off for three-straight baskets. Hulett followed suit, finding her rhythm from downtown on back-to-back possessions.
Redlands left no doubt on this one and took advantage of the opportunity to utilize its deep bench. Freshman forward Megan Fortenberry (Riverside, CA) made her inaugural appearance on court with the Bulldogs, while sophomore guard Jordyn Carroll (Menifee, CA) also gained quality minutes in her second showing of the season.
Overall, Fakalata led the offensive charge with 19 points, which came off of 8-for-12 shooting. She also recorded a double-double by pulling in 11 rebounds, including six on the offensive end.
In addition, Lykins, junior forward Brinsley Farry (Ventura, CA), and Silver all chipped in 10 points. Silver went 4-for-4 from the field, while Lykins added nine rebounds and six assists.
As a team, the Maroon and Gray converted 60% of its field goals and 77.8% of its free-throws in a stellar performance. More than half of the Bulldogs' points came off the bench.
Caltech had three players in double figures, with Kate Lewis scoring a team-high 18 points.
Redlands (5-8, 2-2 SCIAC) looks forward to hosting Occidental College on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in Currier Gym.
