After earning a third-quarter lead, the University of Redlands women's basketball team remained in front through the final whistle to capture a 52-46 win over the Occidental College Tigers in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action on Wednesday night in Eagle Rock.
After the Maroon and Gray earned a 5-2 lead, the teams went on to trade buckets in a low-scoring first quarter. By the end of 10 minutes, Oxy held a slight 11-9 advantage. Junior guard Cassandra Lacey (Victorville, CA) carried the Bulldogs with her first five points of the night.
Redlands responded by notching its highest output of the game with 21 points in the second quarter. While trailing 13-19 with 8:14 to go in the frame, the Bulldogs orchestrated a 14-0 run over the next five minutes to gain a 27-19 lead. First-year guard Chyanne Pagkalinawan (Torrance, CA) drove the lane for a layup to initiate the offensive spurt, while first-year guard Alyssa Downs (South San Francisco, CA) converted a pair of buckets from deep. In addition, Lacey scored six points, with four coming off mid-range jumpers. Redlands' stellar defense also played a significant role in forcing the Tigers into tough shots.
After an Oxy timeout with 3:22 left in the stanza, the home team managed to score eight unanswered points to even the tally at 27. A quick trey-ball by Downs put the Bulldogs back up, as the teams headed into the locker rooms for halftime.
Downs picked up right where she ended the second quarter by scoring the first basket of the third for Redlands' 32-27 advantage. Later in the frame, sophomore forward Kellis Dack (Vancouver, WA) provided key points for the Bulldogs, who built 37-31 lead by the 2:17-mark.
Although Oxy cut it to two, the Maroon and Gray maintained the lead through the end of the fourth. Early in the final period, first-year guard Kim Friedman (Agoura, CA) found sophomore guard Ali Iannone (Fullerton, CA) for the layup, before Dack stepped back on a Lacey assist for the jumper. After another Downs three-pointer, the Bulldogs sat in front by a score of 44-37 with about six minutes to go.
However, the Tigers refused to back down and eventually cut it to one on a layup out of a timeout with 3:02 remaining.
On Redlands' ensuing possession, a pair of offensive boards turned into a huge bucket from downtown off the hands of sophomore guard Alyssa Lee (Monterey Park, CA). After Lacey hauled in the subsequent defensive rebound, Dack made her way through the lane for the layup off Pagkalinawan's assist to essentially seal the deal for the Bulldogs with a five-point advantage. Following late free-throws, Redlands maintained the margin for the 52-46 win.
Downs finished with a game-high 18 points in 29 minutes of action. She also hauled in six rebounds and dished out two assists. Lacey added 13 points and 13 rebounds, along with four assists and two steals, while Dack chipped in 11 points and nine boards.
Redlands (6-11, 3-5 SCIAC) heads to the University of La Verne on Saturday, January 19, for a 2 p.m. tilt against the Leopards.