No. 4 Redlands Bulldogs at No. 1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athenas
Thursday, February 21, at 7 p.m.
By winning three of its last four games, the University of Redlands women's basketball team earned the fourth and final spot in the 2019 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Postseason Tournament. The Bulldogs head to top-seeded Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges on Thursday, February 21, for a 7 p.m. tip-off against the Athenas for the familiar foes' sixth-consecutive meeting in the semifinal game of the tournament.
Redlands qualifies for the 12th time, dating back to the tournament's inception in 2007-08.
During the regular season, CMS captured the conference title with a 15-1 record that complemented a 23-2 overall mark. The Athenas defeated Redlands in both meetings, earning a defensive-heavy 47-41 decision on January 5 and a 53-41 result on January 26.
Statistically, CMS benefits from a well-balanced offense that includes junior guard Maya Love as the leader with 12.5 points per game off of 48.1% shooting. She also ranks first on the team in rebounds with 225 and steals with 47.
Sophomore forward Kate Parrish backs her with a scoring average of 9.2 points, while junior guard Gloria Bates, senior guard Corinne Bogle, and junior forward Lindsey Cleary each chip in between 7.7 and 8.7 points per game. Bogle paces the Athenas in three-pointers with 23 made.
Redlands enters this year's tournament off of an 11-14 overall record and an 8-8 showing in SCIAC. Junior guard Cassandra Lacey (Victorville, CA) and first-year guard Alyssa Downs (South San Francisco, CA) create a dynamic scoring duo that carries the offensive load by averaging 18.1 and 15.6 points, respectively. Lacey currently leads the conference in scoring, while Downs recently broke the school record for three-pointers in a single season.
Sophomore guard Alyssa Lee (Monterey Park, CA) has delivered 50 assists to aid the team's offense.
Defensively, sophomore forward Kellis Dack (Vancouver, WA) effectively crashes the glass with 198 rebounds, including a team-high 50 on the offensive end. Sophomore forward Camille Mosley (Riverside, CA) also supplies important contributions with 140 boards and 28 blocks.
The other SCIAC semifinal pits No. 2 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (20-5, 14-2 SCIAC) against No. 3 Chapman University (16-9, 11-5 SCIAC). Hosted by the Sagehens, this game also takes place on Thursday, February 21, at 7 p.m.
The winners of the semifinals will face off on Saturday, February 23, at the site of the highest remaining seed to determine the SCIAC's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Championships.