The University of Redlands women's basketball team secured a spot in the upcoming Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Postseason Tournament with Saturday's 60-49 win over the visiting Sagehens of Pomona-Pitzer Colleges. After celebrating their five seniors in a pregame ceremony, the Bulldogs never trailed in a near, wire-to-wire victory that included contributions from 14 different players.
The Maroon and Gray broke an early two-all tie with back-to-back three-pointers by senior guards Caitlin Ciardella (South San Francisco, CA) and Kameran Dage (Walnut Creek, CA). The Bulldogs' long-range offense inspired a 13-2 run to take a sizeable lead by the 7:48-mark of the opening frame. During this spurt, senior guard Kaity Lykins (Simi Valley, CA) went off for nine of her 11 points for the night.
Redlands extended its advantage to 33-18 at the halftime break, as Dage knocked down another bucket from downtown and sophomore guard Jade Cheldelin (Portland, OR) converted a three-pointer and a jumper in consecutive fashion.
The second half saw the Maroon and Gray maintain its double-digit lead with various players stepping up to keep the Bulldogs' momentum. Early on, senior forward Victoria Fakalata (East Palo Alto, CA) fired off a quick six points to make it 39-22 with 16:54 remaining.
Moments later, sophomore forward Nina Newman (San Mateo, CA) knocked down a pair of free-throws at the halfway point of the frame, before freshman forward Allison Siksnus (Placentia, CA) poured in five-straight points for the Bulldogs' largest lead of the night at 50-29.
Although Pomona-Pitzer made a short rally at the end of the game, Redlands kept a double-digit lead through the final whistle to earn the important win.
Overall, the Maroon and Gray shot 39.1% from the field, as compared to Pomona-Pitzer's 29.8% showing.
Cheldelin and Lykins led the Bulldogs' multi-faceted offense with 11 points apiece, while Fakalata chipped in 10. Siksnus finished with nine points, and Dage and Newman each scored six.
Lykins pulled in eight rebounds and dished out four assists in a well-rounded effort.
Sagehen Basha Brulee-Wills led all players with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Redlands (12-12, 9-6 SCIAC) travels to Whittier College on Monday, February 23, for the final conference game of the regular season, tipping off at 5:30 p.m. in a doubleheader with the men.