The University of Redlands women's basketball team made the trek to Thousand Oaks for Wednesday's Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) showdown against the Cal Lutheran University Regals. Despite converting 14 free throws and a strong third and fourth quarter showing, the Bulldogs could not overcome Cal Lutheran's first-half lead and ultimately lost by a score of 64-72.
The teams matched each other play-for-play, trading scores through the first 10 minutes of action. Sophomore guards Angelina Roque (San Diego, CA) and Marisa Urbano-Sedlund (San Diego, CA) combined for all of the Bulldog's first period points, for a slight 13-15 deficit at the end of one.
Senior guard Kellis Dack (Vancouver, WA) and sophomore guard Alyssa Downs (South San Francisco, CA) got in on the scoring action to open the second with a layup and a three-pointer. However, momentum began to swing in favor of the Regals in the ensuing minutes to put Redlands in an 18-32 hole with 2:46 left in the second.
However, Dack got the Maroon and Gray back in rhythm with a trey-ball just 30 seconds later that was the beginning of a 7-0 run. Downs and Urbano-Sedlund then converted their attempts from the charity stripe. Roque completed the run with an impressive bucket with just 14 seconds left from beyond the arc, to pull within six, and enter halftime down, 28-34.
Despite the Bulldogs registering their best shooting percentage in the third frame, Cal Lutheran continued to hold onto a slight lead. At 5:40 Roque found Urbano-Sedlund for a three-pointer, that junior forward Hannah Jerrier (Canton, MA) followed with two made free-throws. Downs added a jumper and a layup before Urbano-Sedlund hit yet another trey-ball. And with just 12 seconds left in the third, Roque found Dack for an in-the-paint jumper and a 46-55 score heading into the final stanza.
Stingy defense from both sides left the teams scoreless for the first three minutes of action. At 4:44 Downs swiped a steal that led to points after a CLU foul which Urbano-Sedlund sunk both from the charity stripe. Just a minute later, Urbano-Sedlund fed Downs the ball for a three-pointer to pull within eight.
Roque did all she could down the stretch making three free throws and playing extraordinary defense. With 1:06 left she got her hands on a CLU shot for a nice block and snagged the defensive rebound and then went coast to coast for a fastbreak layup. She was fouled on the play, sinking her subsequent free-throw to complete the three-point play. Jerrier scored the final points of the night with 28 seconds left in the game.
Although the Bulldogs mustered an 18-point effort in the final 10 minutes, it was not enough to overtake the home team for a final score of 64-72.
Roque led the charge with 19 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. Urbano-Sedlund followed close behind with 18 points and Downs added 16.
Redlands wraps up the 2021 campaign with a 1-4 showing in a mix of SCIAC and NAIA games.