The women's basketball teams from the University of Redlands and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges battled it out in tonight's semifinal game of the 2011 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Postseason Tournament, with the three-seeded Athenas earning the upper hand in the 52-46 victory over the two-seeded Bulldogs.

With the victory, the Athenas (20-6, 9-5 SCIAC) earn a trip to the 2011 SCIAC Postseason Tournament final at Occidental College on Saturday at 5 p.m. Occidental ousted the University of La Verne in a 52-45 decision in tonight's second semifinal.

After a back-and-forth battle through the first 10 minutes, CMS surged ahead by eight points by the end of the first period. The Athenas closed out the half with six unanswered points with three different players scoring a basket en route to a 29-21 advantage.

CMS quickly made it a 10-point game when junior guard Aria Krumwiede (Scottsdale, AZ) nailed a jumper just two-and-a-half minutes into the second stanza.

However, the Bulldogs fought back and finally tied it up for the third time all game when senior forward Allison Clark (Altadena, CA) sank a jumper to make it 39 apiece with 5:58 left on the clock.

After seeing another tie at 41, the Athenas rattled off seven consecutive points, including back-to-back three-pointers by junior guard Taylon Johnson (Prairie Village, KS) and Krumwiede.

Despite junior guard Mariah Barbetti-Cort's (Ventura, CA) long ball to cut it to four, CMS kept the Bulldogs at bay through the final whistle.

Krumwiede led CMS with 13 points, while junior forward Jennifer Ringoen (San Mateo, CA) pulled in a team-high 13 rebounds.

Junior forward Courtney Carroll (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA) tallied a game-high 17 points for the Bulldogs, while Clark chipped in 14 points. Barbetti-Cort recorded a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds, to complement four assists and two blocks.

Neither team shot particularly well, with Redlands garnering a 34% performance and CMS coming in at 32.7%.

The Bulldogs struggled from the charity stripe, mustering a 9-for-14 display for 64.3%, compared to the Athenas' 72.2% clip.

Redlands (16-10, 10-4 SCIAC) now waits for the NCAA announcement regarding a possible at-large bid to the NCAA Championships.