The University of Redlands women's basketball team headed to Whittier College for a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) matchup against the Poets on Saturday night. Through a tight game that included five ties and four lead changes, the Maroon and Gray ultimately edged Whittier by a final score of 54-51.
Although Whittier jumped on the board first with a quick three-pointer, Redlands turned things right around with a steal from sophomore guard Alyssa Downs (South San Francisco, CA). On the following play, sophomore forward Hannah Jerrier (Canton, MA) found junior guard Kellis Dack (Vancouver, WA) for the layup to put Redlands on the board. After a Whittier turnover, Downs hit a jumper to go up 4-3 with 8:17 left in the first.
The teams remained neck-and-neck throughout the whole first period as they both headed to the second with 12 points apiece.
Just over a minute into the second, Dack took one to the net for a layup and was fouled on the play. She then completed the three-point play for a 17-14 advantage at the 8:26-minute mark.
Four minutes later, first-year guard Angelina Roque (San Diego, CA) swiped a steal and took it coast to coast for the layup. Two minutes after that, first-year guard Alexis Machain (San Diego, CA) found Downs for a bucket from beyond the perimeter to give the Bulldogs a 25-19 lead with 2:21 left in the second.
Roque and Downs combined for four more points down the stretch for a 29-22 advantage at halftime.
Despite the Poets opening up the third-quarter scoring, the Maroon and Gray subsequently went on a 6-2 run to create a little space. Senior guard Cassandra Lacey (Victorville, CA) sunk two free-throws before Jerrier swiped a steal and then scored a layup on the next possession. Downs assisted Jerrier's basket before she drained two successful shots from the charity stripe to make it 35-26 at 4:24 in the third.
Downs came up clutch in the final minutes of the third quarter with two treys to end the period with a 43-35 lead.
Roque kicked off the fourth quarter with a layup that was followed by Jerrier's successful and-one play for Redlands' largest lead of the night at 48-35 at 9:06.
However, the Poets worked to close the gap to come within four points, but another Jerrier three-point play stymied their momentum for a 53-46 lead.
Although Whittier made a trey to bring the score to 54-51, Jerrier locked it down on defense and swiped a steal to give possession back to the Bulldogs. The Poets were given one more offensive possession and threw up a three-pointer that fortunately did not go in, for the Bulldogs to head home with a tight, 54-51 victory.
Downs led the team with 15 points while Jerrier chipped in 12. Jerrier also pulled in seven boards and her and Downs combined for six steals.
As the No. 1 seed, Redlands (19-6, 14-2 SCIAC) looks forward to hosting fourth-seeded Pomona-Pitzer at the SCIAC Postseason Tournament Semifinal on Thursday, February 27, at 7 p.m. in Currier Gym.