The University of Redlands women's water polo team wrapped up the round-robin portion of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) schedule with an 11-8 win over the University of La Verne on Saturday.  The Bulldogs initiated the scoring and quickly built a 3-1 lead, resulting in the wire-to-wire victory.

Junior center-defender Deandra Van Houten (Huntington Beach, CA) fired off the first goal of the day for the Maroon and Gray, scoring less than a minute into the opening period.

After the teams traded scores, the Bulldogs capped off a solid first period when sophomore driver Annie Kinney (Newport Beach, CA) rocketed a shot into the back of the net with 12 seconds left on the clock.

Although the Leopards cut the deficit in half, Redlands responded with three consecutive netters, as junior center-defender Tricia Bannister (Naperville, IL), Kinney, and freshman driver Ginger Carlson (Hilo, HI) joined forces for the strong offensive output.

However, La Verne finally answered in the third frame, scoring back-to-back goals to make it a one-score game with 5:33 to go.

With each team finding the back of the net once over the next minute, Redlands' sophomore driver Meg Claypool (Portland, OR) created some breathing room for her squad by converting a last-second score.

Leading 8-6, the Bulldogs took care of business down the stretch to secure the important conference win.

Senior goalkeeper Julie Lupfer (San Diego, CA) recorded four saves in the victory.

Despite being tied with Occidental College, Redlands (12-19, 4-4 SCIAC) earns the No. 5 seed for the SCIAC Championship Tournament due to the head-to-head advantage over the Tigers.  The Bulldogs face No. 4 Cal Lutheran University in the opening round on Friday, April 25, at 7 p.m. at Whittier College.