For the first time in the history of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Women's Basketball Postseason Tournament, the championship game will be played inside Currier Gym, as the top-seeded University of Redlands hosts No. 3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges on Saturday, February 29, at 5 p.m. During Thursday's semifinals, the Bulldogs took down No. 4 Pomona-Pitzer, 53-51, in a nail-biter, while CMS upended No. 2 Whittier College, 71-66. The winner of Saturday's final receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.
This will be the third meeting of the season between longtime rivals, Redlands and CMS. Each of the first two games came down to the wire and resulted in victories for the Maroon and Gray.
On January 15, the Bulldogs gained a 49-47 win on the road, as senior guard Cassandra Lacey (Victorville, CA) led the game with 16 points before finding first-year forward Julia Balesteri (Pleasanton, CA) for the game-winning layup. For CMS, junior forward Kate Parrish (Seattle, WA) paced the Athenas with 12 points and 10 rebounds. In the second matchup, the Bulldogs rallied back to overcome a fourth-quarter deficit and take the 54-49 victory. Sophomore forward Hannah Jerrier (Canton, MA) totaled 13 points on 6-for-7 shooting while pulling in eight rebounds. First-year forward Austyn Masuno (Long Beach, CA) provided a team-high 15 points in 15 minutes off the bench.
In Thursday's semifinal win between Redlands and Pomona-Pitzer, there were eight ties and seven lead changes, with the home team's largest lead being only seven points. Sophomore forward Alyssa Downs (South San Francisco, CA) stepped up with a game-high 19 points that included three treys. Junior guard Alyssa Lee (Monterey Park, CA) provided a much-needed spark off the bench with eight points and four rebounds.
Overall this season, Lacey and Downs have combined as a lethal scoring duo with 13.3 and 12.9 points per game in conference, respectively. Downs sits fourth in the SCIAC in both three-pointers made per game with 2.4, and three-point percentage with 38.8%. Jerrier leads the conference with a stellar field-goal percentage of 62.1%, with the next closest being 50.4%.
During Claremont-Mudd-Scripps' semifinal upset over the Poets, Whittier led after the first quarter, but CMS took control in the second half and never looked back. Led by guard Maezelle Millan (Fontana, CA) with 18 points, three Athenas scored in double figures on Thursday.
For the season, senior forward Lindsey Cleary averages 11.6 points per game in SCIAC action as CMS' leading scorer. She shoots 47.4% from the field and knocks down 83.0% of her free throws. Parrish averages 10.6 points per game with a 48.2% clip from the field and averages 7.1 rebounds.
The winner of Saturday's tournament final earns the conference's automatic qualifier to the upcoming NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championships.
Live stats and streaming will be available for all tournament games through the SCIAC Portal.
Ticket prices for admission to SCIAC Postseason Tournament matches are set by the conference and are as follows:
Spectators w/ current SCIAC ID (Students, Faculty, Staff) – Free
Children 12 and under – Free
Seniors (55 and older) & Military Personnel - $5
General Admission - $10