The University of Redlands women's basketball team used a 26-4 first quarter to fuel an 85-44 victory over Caltech in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) road contest on Saturday night.
After the Beavers scored their first bucket a little over a minute into the game, the Bulldogs shut them down for exactly four minutes and built a 13-2 lead at the 5:19-mark off of a jumper from senior guard Cassandra Lacey (Victorville, CA).
Caltech scored once more, but the Maroon and Gray closed the quarter with 13 unanswered points to head into the second with a comfortable 26-4 buffer. Redlands got everyone involved, as eight different players got on the board, led by Lacey with eight points in the first 10 minutes.
The Bulldogs did not stop there with a 7-4 run, including four points from first-year forward Julia Balesteri (Pleasanton, CA) to open the second quarter. They also did not allow a field-goal until nearly midway through the period and built up a 33-8 advantage.
The Beavers chipped away at their deficit and came back to within 14 points, but Redlands closed the half strong to head into the break with a 41-21 lead.
The Maroon and Gray struck first with a steal and a triple from sophomore guard Alyssa Downs (South San Francisco, CA) in the first minute. The Bulldogs imposed their will on the defensive end once again with stifling defense for nearly five and a half minutes by forcing seven consecutive misses and four turnovers in the span.
All-the-while, the Maroon and Gray kept their foot on the gas offensively with a 67-27 lead cushion with 1:43 left in the third. The teams matched three-pointers to head into the final 10 minutes with a score of 67-30 in favor of the Bulldogs.
Despite the Beavers putting together a 10-3 run in the middle of the fourth, first-year guard Angelina Roque (San Diego, CA) scored seven points in the period to help the Bulldogs cruise to an 85-44 conference-clinching victory.
For the entire game, Lacey paced all scorers with a game-high 16 points on 8-for-9 shooting and five assists. Sophomore forward Hannah Jerrier (Canton, MA) nearly notched a double-double with 14 points and eight rebounds, while Roque chipped in 11 points and five boards off the bench. Balesteri was also effective off the bench with nine points and eight rebounds in only 16 minutes.
As a team, the Bulldogs shot 50.0% while limiting the Beavers to just 26.6% on 17-for-64 shooting. They also took advantage of their chances at the charity stripe with a 10-for-11 clip, while out-rebounding Caltech, 49-33. In addition to a 20-6 edge in the assists column, the Maroon and Gray also dominated the paint 32-16 and registered 16 second-chance points.
Redlands (17-6, 12-2 SCIAC) returns home to celebrate Senior Day on Wednesday, February 19, at 7 p.m. against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges.