The No. 4 University of Redlands women's basketball team concluded the 2018-19 season with a 49-72 loss to No. 1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in the semifinal of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Postseason Tournament on Thursday night in Claremont.
After the Athenas got off to a fast start with an 8-2 lead in the first few minutes of action, Redlands battled to close the gap. By the 3:10-mark in the first quarter, sophomore forward Camille Mosley (Riverside, CA) scored four-straight buckets to cut the deficit to two at 10-12. Although CMS extended its lead to 17-10, first-year guard Alyssa Downs (South San Francisco, CA) hit a triple for Redlands to make it 13-17 through 10 minutes.
Unfortunately, the game slipped away from the Maroon and Gray in the second quarter, as the Athenas gained a 40-20 lead by halftime.
Nonetheless, the Bulldogs did not go down without a fight, with junior guard Cassandra Lacey (Victorville, CA) dropping in Redlands' first four buckets of the third to make it 24-42.
During a two-minute span later in the quarter, sophomore guard Kellis Dack (Vancouver, WA) registered six points and a block to bring the score to 30-51 with 2:33 left in the stanza. The Bulldogs closed the quarter strong by scoring the final seven points, including five on back-to-back possessions from Lacey, to cut the deficit to 37-53 heading into the fourth.
In the final 10 minutes of action, Lacey and Downs traded buckets in an attempt to make up ground on the Athenas. Lacey began the quarter with a pair of free throws, before Downs hit a three-pointer at the 6:12-mark to make it 42-65. Lacey scored the next four points and Downs sank another trey, but it was not enough for the Bulldogs to make up the difference.
Lacey led both teams in scoring with 18 points. Dack ended the night with 12 points and three rebounds, while Downs chipped in 11 points and six boards. Mosley also turned in a solid game with five rebounds to go along with an assist, a steal, and a block.
CMS advances to the SCIAC Postseason Tournament final to face No. 2 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, which defeated Chapman University in the other semifinal.
After making its 12th consecutive appearance at the event, Redlands completes the season with an overall record of 11-15 and an even 8-8 mark in conference.