The University of Redlands women's basketball team keeps its Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) unbeaten streak alive with a 49-47 come-from-behind victory over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges on Wednesday night.

Both teams traded buckets early the first quarter until CMS scored five unanswered points to take a 16-10 lead after 10 minutes of action. Despite holding the Athenas to only seven points in the second quarter, the Bulldogs went into the break facing a 14-23 deficit.

However, two three-pointers from sophomore guard Alyssa Downs (South San Francisco, CA) in the first few minutes of the third quarter made it 21-27 with 7:34 on the clock.

The Maroon and Gray came within three points when Downs fed sophomore guard Chyanne Pagkalinawan (Torrance, CA) for a triple at the 6:11-mark.

Despite the Athenas knocking down seven free throws over a three-minute span, the Bulldogs remained within striking distance with a trey from Downs to make it 31-36 with 3:04 remaining in the third.

At the two-minute mark, first-year forward Julia Balesteri (Pleasanton, CA) provided a spark with a layup and a block on consecutive possessions to help the Bulldogs make it a three-point game at 35-38.

Redlands' defense continued to wreak havoc on the Athenas, as a steal from Kellis Dack (Vancouver, WA) in the final minute helped the Bulldogs close out the quarter by only allowing one field goal from the Athenas since the first minute of the frame.  

The Bulldogs' defensive effort carried over into the fourth quarter, as they forced CMS into five consecutive misses and two turnovers in the opening four minutes. All the while, three different players scored for Redlands to take control of a 41-38 lead at the 8:03-mark.

Although CMS knotted the game up at 41-all, Downs drained a mid-range jumper off of an assist from senior guard Cassandra Lacey (Victorville, CA) to regain the lead on the next possession. Pagkalinawan stepped up on the defensive end with a steal that led to a fastbreak layup for Lacey and a subsequent block to help the Bulldogs build a 45-41 advantage with 4:46 left to play.

Over the next few minutes, neither team could connect, until Balesteri knocked down a free throw to create a small cushion with a 46-43 lead with 35 ticks left on the clock. With 18 seconds to go, the Athenas knotted the game at 47-47.

The Maroon and Gray executed on its final possession of the game, as Lacey quickly found Balesteri under the basket for the go-ahead layup to make it 49-47.

Once again, the Bulldogs came up clutch on the defensive end with the game-winning stop as time expired to earn a hard-fought 49-47 victory.

For the game, Lacey led all scorers with 16 points on 6-for-12 shooting to go along with six rebounds and four assists. Downs also was productive with 15 points on an efficient 6-for-10 clip, with five rebounds, three assists, and two blocks.

This is the Bulldogs' first win over CMS since their 64-63 victory during the 2016-17 season.

Redlands (11-4, 6-0 SCIAC) returns home on Saturday, January 18, to face Caltech at 7 p.m.