U of R Women's Basketball Challenges No. 2 George Fox at UCSC Thanksgiving Classic

Photo credit: Olivia de la Cruz
Photo credit: Olivia de la Cruz

The University of Redlands women's basketball team traveled to northern California for the UC Santa Cruz Thanksgiving Classic, taking on the No. 2 George Fox University (OR) Bruins in Friday's contest. While going toe-to-toe with the Northwest Conference powerhouse, the Bulldogs battled until the very end, falling by a score of 55-62.

After trailing by 17 points through three quarters of action, Redlands rallied to out-score the Bruins by a 19-11 margin in the fourth period to cut the deficit to seven points by the final whistle. The teams both shot 50% in the last 10 minutes, but the Bulldogs forced George Fox into making seven turnovers, which translated into six of the Maroon and Gray's points.

Senior forward Brinsley Farry (Ventura, CA) started out the fourth quarter on a positive note when she knocked down a baseline jumper for the Bulldogs. Junior guard Jade Cheldelin (Portland, OR) converted a three-point play by hitting a jumper on Redlands' ensuing possession before making the free-throw.

Sophomore guard Angela Silver's (Scotts Valley, CA) lay-up ended the game's two-minute scoring drought, which led to an 11-2 Bulldog run to finish the game. Sophomore forward Reyna Ta'amu (Lakewood, CA) joined Farry and Cheldelin on this final outburst, before Silver capped off the Maroon and Gray's effort with a pair of made free-throws from the charity stripe.

Ta'amu finished the night with a team-high 16 points, going 6-for-11 from the floor. Cheldelin chipped in 11 points, while Farry added eight points, seven rebounds, and four steals.

Overall, each squad shot well, with Redlands converting 43.2% of its attempts and GFU making 42.6%.

The Bruins (3-0) earned a slight rebounding advantage at 34-31.

Redlands (2-2) strives to bounce back in Saturday's showdown against Austin College (TX) during the UCSC Thanksgiving Classic at 3 p.m.