U of R Women's Basketball Falls Short against CMS Athenas

Photo credit: Chelsea Rex
Photo credit: Chelsea Rex

The University of Redlands women's basketball team took on the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges Athenas in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) showdown on Wednesday evening in Currier Gym. After facing an early deficit, the Bulldogs rallied for a short comeback to close out the first half with a three-point deficit. Nonetheless, the Maroon and Gray struggled to maintain that offensive rhythm in the second half and fell to CMS by a score of 43-59.

The Athenas came out ready for action as they converted four lay-ups to Redlands' one in the early part of the game. Nearly five minutes into the first quarter, the Bulldogs faced a 2-8 deficit, before junior forward Allison Siksnus (Placentia, CA) hit a trey-ball off the hands of junior guard Courtney Chen (La Canada, CA) to keep the team within striking distance. Junior forward Reyna Ta'amu (Lakewood, CA) converted the subsequent lay-up off of an inside pass from senior guard Jade Cheldelin (Portland, OR). After the teams traded buckets, the first-quarter buzzer sounded with Redlands trailing at 9-10.

Again, CMS got off to a quick start in the second stanza, forcing the Bulldogs to work from an 11-19 deficit. Sophomore guard Mandy Silver (Scotts Valley, CA) kick-started the Maroon and Gray's offensive response by knocking down a free-throw at the 6:04-mark, which was followed by two more successful shots from the charity stripe by Siksnus.  Following an Athena lay-up, M. Silver raced it back down the court for a good jumper in the paint to make it a five-point game at 16-21. Siksnus hauled in the Athenas' subsequent missed shot and was fouled on the play. She made her two resulting free-throws to send the Bulldogs into locker room down by only three at 18-21.

Unfortunately for the home team, CMS remained hot on the offensive end, forcing the Maroon and Gray into a double-digit hole by the midway point of the third quarter. 

However, Redlands rallied for a short 6-0 run, which was bookended by Cheldelin's jumpers, to make it a two-possession game at 26-32.

Moments later, the Athenas answered to create a lead too big for Redlands to overcome, as the Bulldogs struggled to maintain their offensive rhythm and ultimately fell by a score of 43-59.

Siksnus finished the night with a team-high 15 points on 4-for-7 shooting. Cheldelin and Ta'amu followed with eight points each, with Cheldelin adding six rebounds.

The Bulldogs (4-7, 1-1 SCIAC) look forward to traveling to Chapman University on Saturday, January 7, for a conference showdown against the Panthers.  Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.