Behind a 20-assist effort, the University of Redlands women's basketball remains undefeated in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action with a 63-60 victory over Caltech on Saturday night.
Despite the Beavers opening up a solid lead to start the game, senior guard Cassandra Lacey (Victorville, CA) took over with eight consecutive points for the Bulldogs to cut their deficit to 8-15 with 4:19 to go in the first quarter. Over a three-minute span towards the end of the period, Redlands scored 10 unanswered points, highlighted by three-pointers from sophomore guards Chyanne Pagkalinawan (Torrance, CA) and Alyssa Downs (South San Francisco, CA) to take an 18-17 lead.
Although Caltech escaped the first quarter with a one-point advantage, junior forward Kellis Dack (Vancouver, WA) scored a layup off of first-year forward Julia Balesteri's (Pleasanton, CA) offensive board to pull ahead 25-23 midway through the second. Dack benefitted from another offensive rebound as she scored a layup to put the Maroon and Gray up, 29-25, heading into the break.
The Bulldogs entered the half energized, with the opening seven points, led by a pair of layups from sophomore forward Hannah Jerrier (Canton, MA) to make it 36-25 at the 7:26-mark of the third quarter. The Bulldogs continued to surge with Lacey stealing the ball and taking it coast-to-coast for their largest lead of the game at 50-31 with just over two minutes remaining in the period.
Caltech slimmed the margin to single digits early in the fourth, but Dack corralled an offensive rebound and put it right back up to push the Bulldog lead back to 54-43 with 7:08 left in the game.
The Maroon and Gray weathered a big 13-4 run by the Beavers that was halted by a layup by Jerrier to make it 61-56 with 1:52 remaining. Caltech came back to within on possession with a jumper on the next play, but Downs helped build a 63-58 cushion with a jumper with just over a minute left on the clock. Despite the Beavers scoring to make it 60-63 with 51 seconds left to play, the Bulldogs clamped down and forced a contested three-pointer on the final possession to seal the victory.
For the game, Lacey led three players in double-figures with 16 points, six rebounds, and six assists. Downs tallied 14 points and led a 20-assist effort for the Bulldogs with seven of her own, while Jerrier registered a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. As a team, the Maroon and Gray shot 47.4% from the field and 45.5% from the perimeter.
Redlands (12-4, 7-0 SCIAC) competes in the second of a three-game homestand in a conference battle against Chapman University on Wednesday, January 22, at 7 p.m.
