The University of Redlands women's basketball faced the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in the second of back-to-back games at the Chapman Winter Classic on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs struggled from the field en route to a 39-56 loss to the Eagles.
UWL controlled the first quarter with a 15-2 advantage after 10 minutes of action. As play advanced to the second, first-year forward Hannah Jerrier (Canton, MA) scored off of an offensive rebound for the Bulldogs' first field goal of the contest. Nearly midway through the second, the Maroon and Gray made a defensive stand and held the Eagles to four points over a span of three minutes. Senior guard Brenna De La Rosa (Waipahu, HI) and sophomore forward Camille Mosley (Riverside, CA) knocked down two free throws each, while first-year guard Alyssa Downs (South San Francisco, CA) connected on a jumper to close the gap to 13-28 with 3:43 left in the frame.
The Bulldogs worked to cut the deficit when sophomore guard Alyssa Lee's (Monterey Park, CA) three-pointer brought Redlands within 12, but the Eagles answered with a trey on the other end to enter the halftime break up, 33-18.
In the third, the Bulldogs displayed their best defensive effort of the day by holding the Eagles to their lowest scoring output of 10 in the quarter. Unfortunately, the Maroon and Gray endured a scoring drought of its own, which resulted in a 22-43 hole to start the fourth quarter.
Redlands continued to battle in the final 10 minutes and earned a 17-13 scoring advantage. Lee opened the Bulldogs' offense with her second trey of the game, as Downs caught fire with seven consecutive points. In addition, junior guard Lindsay Kilgore (Mira Loma, CA) hit a nothing-but-net three to make it 37-54. Nonetheless, the Maroon and Gray ran out of time on its final push, resulting in the 39-56 loss.
Downs led the way for the Bulldogs with 14 points, including nine in the fourth quarter. Lee added eight points, five rebounds, and one steal, while sophomore guard Kellis Dack (Vancouver, WA) pulled in a game-high 11 rebounds.
Despite shooting just 20.8% from the floor, Redlands took full advantage of its opportunities at the charity stripe with a 14-for-17 effort.
Redlands (3-9) wraps up a seven-game road trip on Monday, December 31, when it faces Amherst College at 4 p.m. This neutral-site game takes place at Chapman University.