The University of Redlands women's basketball team made the short trek to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges on Wednesday for a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) showdown against the Athenas. Amidst an incredibly tight contest that included 10 lead changes and 12 ties, the Bulldogs saw a four-point advantage slip away in the waning minutes en route to a difficult 55-58 loss.
After the Athenas mustered a 12-6 advantage in an ugly first quarter, CMS built its largest lead of the night at eight points on the first possession of the second stanza. However, Redlands responded with a 7-0 run to pull within one at the 5:41-mark of the quarter. Sophomore Cassandra Lacey's (Victorville, CA) jump shot initiated the run, while senior forward Reyna Ta'amu (Lakewood, CA) sustained it with a five-point spurt of her own.
CMS managed to answer right back to earn a 19-13 lead at the 3:38-mark, but stingy Bulldog defense and a three-pointer by senior forward Allison Siksnus (Placentia, CA) cut Redlands' deficit to one possession. Ta'amu and Siksnus closed out the opening half with success at the free-throw line, as the Bulldogs earned their first lead of the night at 20-19. A late lay-up by CMS sent the teams into the locker room with their roles reversed at 21-20.
The back-and-forth battle continued in the third quarter, with neither squad able to pull away by more than five points. With CMS earning one such advantage at 35-30 with 3:45 left in the third frame, the Bulldogs saw senior guard Caitlyn Dixon (Seattle, WA) step back to hit a three-pointer off of an assist by senior guard Joy Adlao (Hacienda Heights, CA). After the Maroon and Gray forced a CMS turnover, first-year forward Camille Mosley's (Riverside, CA) ensuing jumper evened the tally once again.
Down by one at the start of the fourth quarter, Redlands continued to battle to keep things close and eventually reached its largest lead of the night at 53-49 with 3:15 remaining in the game. Siksnus carried the team by hitting five points, while Lacey added a lay-up and a key assist.
However, the game was won at the charity stripe, as CMS converted nine of its final 12 opportunities and Redlands went 2-for-8 in the last 2:28 of the game.
Siksnus led all players with 21 points, which came off of 7-for-12 shooting. Ta'amu added 13 points and eight rebounds. Dixon finished the night with four steals.
Overall, Redlands only made nine turnovers on the night, as compared to the Athenas' 14. In addition, 15 of the Bulldogs' 21 buckets came off of assists, with Lacey dishing out four of them.
The Bulldogs (2-4, 0-2 SCIAC) strive to bounce back on Saturday, December 9, when they host the Whittier College Poets in Currier Gym. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.