The University of Redlands women's water polo team hosted the Whittier College Poets in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) showdown at the Thompson Aquatic Center on Saturday morning. Despite a first-quarter lead, the Bulldogs fell short in a 5-10 decision.
Redlands jumped out to a 2-0 lead in a tight first quarter that saw multiple shots bounce off the cage. The Bulldogs successfully found the back of the net on two occasions when senior attacker Katelyn Jenkins (Bellevue, WA) unleashed goals at the 5:04- and 2:05-marks of the period.
However, Whittier responded with four straight scores over the first six minutes of the second quarter.
The Bulldogs made it a one-goal game at 3-4 when Jenkins connected with junior attacker Hunter Olivier (Indio, CA) on the perimeter for a sweet combination late in the frame.
But the Poets controlled most of the third and fourth periods to pull away en route to the 10-5 result. Redlands had its chances but either just missed the mark or the Whittier goalkeeper came up with the save.
The Maroon and Gray's only scores of the second half came off the hands of senior attacker Sami Walker (Taylorsville, UT) and senior center Kolby Kahahawai (Kailua, HI) in the final three minutes of the game.
Redlands (10-13, 3-4 SCIAC) welcomes Caltech to the Thompson Aquatic Center on Wednesday, March 27, for a 7 p.m. bout with the Beavers.
