The University of Redlands women's basketball team continued Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action against the Cal Lutheran University Regals on Tuesday night in Currier Gym. Despite a hot start that resulted in a 58.3 shooting percentage in the first quarter, the Bulldogs simmered down on both sides of the hardwood in the middle portion of the contest en route to a 54-61 loss.
The Bulldogs came out firing and strung together quality offensive looks and solid defensive efforts. Sophomore forward Allison Siksnus (Placentia, CA) got the offensive train chugging with the opening bucket of the game, before junior guard Jade Cheldelin (Portland, OR) followed with a jumper for the Bulldogs' early 4-0 lead.
Although the Regals answered with five-consecutive points, Redlands senior forward Brinsley Farry (Ventura, CA) and junior guard Selena Iriarte (Wilmington, CA) combined for four points on back-to-back possessions to regain the advantage. Sophomore guard Caitlyn Dixon (Seattle, WA) capped off the first quarter by nailing a triple, which resulted in a 15-all score at the start of the second quarter.
Siksnus kept the scored knotted at 17 after kissing two points off the glass with a little assistance from Dixon. Dixon followed with her second bucket of the game two possessions later, which was backed by a jumper off the hand of Farry to give the Bulldogs a 23-19 lead at the halfway mark of the second quarter.
Shortly after a made free-throw by Bulldog junior forward Sydney Bennett (Agoura Hills, CA), the Regals capped off the second half by scoring 13 unanswered points to take a 32-24 lead into the locker room.
After the Regals took advantage of back-to-back Bulldog turnovers, Farry ended the Maroon and Gray's scoring drought with a lay-up off of a pass from sophomore guard Courtney Chen (La Canada, CA) early in the third quarter.
Siksnus remained a hardy presence down low by drawing a foul and cashing in on two free-throws to trim the deficit to 28-36 with 5:46 remaining in the stanza.
Following a strong defensive rebound by Cheldelin, the Bulldogs remained within striking distance with a lay-up from sophomore guard Angela Silver (Scotts Valley, CA) and a made free-throw by Chen. Junior guard Yoemma Esparza (Shafter, CA) completed the scoring for the Bulldogs in the third frame with a bucket in the final 10 seconds to make it 34-43.
Although neither team converted a whole lot of baskets to start the fourth, Cal Lutheran knocked down two three-pointers, resulting in a 15-point lead. Nonetheless, Redlands began to light it up from downtown, compliments of three successful shots off the hand of Siksnus to cut the deficit to six points with nine seconds remaining.
Unfortunately, the Bulldogs red-hot offense in the final minutes of the contest was not enough to haul in a victory, eventually falling by a score of 54-61.
Siksnus was golden on the offensive end for the Bulldogs by tallying 16 points on a 5-for-8 shooting night and a 3-for-4 mark from long distance. In addition, she hauled in seven rebounds, with three coming on the offensive end.
Chen backed Siksnus with 10 points while pocketing six steals and dishing out four assists. Dixon led the bench brigade in scoring with six points, which included a three-pointer.
The Bulldogs (5-8, 2-2 SCIAC) face off against the University of La Verne Leopards (2-10, 0-3 SCIAC) on Saturday, January 16, at approximately 7 p.m. in Currier Gym, following the men's game at 5 p.m.
