CLAREMONT, Calif. – The University of Redlands Women's Basketball team held onto the top spot within the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) standings Monday night as they edged Pomona-Pitzer 80-72 on the road in a pivotal SCIAC showdown between the top two teams within the conference.
The Maroon and Grey have now won five in a row dating back to December 20 when they upset No. 13 Wartburg College (72-65). Since then they have beaten Chapman University, Caltech, Cal Lutheran, and now Pomona-Pitzer. They have also won eight of their last nine as they earn double digit wins on the season at 10-2, 6-0 SCIAC. They handed the Sagehens their second loss within SCIAC as they drop to 7-6, 5-2 SCIAC.
Four of five starters for the Bulldogs recorded double digit scoring efforts with senior Hannah Jerrier (Canton, Mass.) collecting a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds, while junior Angelina Roque (San Diego, Calif.) led all UR scorers with 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Senior Chyanne Pagkalinawan (Valencia, CA), who is in her second game back following a brief stint in the COVID-19 Health and Safety protocols continues to find her range as she tossed in 13 points coupled with five assists. Alyssa Downs (South San Francisco, CA) added 12 points on the evening going 3-of-5 from the field, which included a pair of triples and seven rebounds, while Julia Balestreri (Pleasanton, CA) and Leah Tan (Alhambra, CA) each had eight points off the bench, while combining for nine rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Balestreri also added four blocks as she continues her dominance in the paint on the defensive end.
It was a slow start for the Bulldogs as they saw themselves down by ten late in the 1st Quarter, getting outscored 18-11, while conceding a 10-0 run over the final five minutes of the period, until Tan would knock down a three-pointer with :18 seconds left.
In the 2nd Quarter it was back-and-forth early until Tan came up with another three-pointer that sparked eleven unanswered for UR as they took their first lead of the game 26-22. Following a Jerrier layup and a couple free-throws from Tan the Bulldogs still led 30-26 with 3:24 to play. But this advantage would go away quickly as PP would regroup closing out the quarter on an 8-2 run that put them back on top 34-32 heading into the half. During the quarter Balestreri led the Bulldogs with six points and sophomore Starla Murillo (Fremont, Calif.) had three points and five rebounds.
The game became tied on three different occasions in the 3rd Quarter, but Redlands saw themselves trailing again this time by six at the 4:03 mark. But the Maroon and Grey continued to put together rallies when they needed to, and they put together one late in the period finishing the frame off on a 12-6 run that leveled the game up at 52-52. During that time Jordan Smith (Tustin, CA) and Downs knocked down a pair of huge triples and were joined by Jerrier who connected from the baseline and Balestreri who tacked on a couple free-throws.
It was all Bulldogs in the 4th Quarter taking the lead at the 8:37 mark thanks to Jerrier to hauled in an offensive rebound and putback. After that UR never trailed again growing their lead to as many as 13 thanks to ten straight, six of which came from Roque.
The U of R finished the game shooting 45.6% from the field, 50% from three-point territory, and 85.2% from the free-throw line. They were dominant at the charity stripe outscoring the Sagehens by 15 (23-27), while holding a plus 13 rebounding advantage (40-27). UR also registered 34 points in the paint, 12 fastbreak points, eight second chance points and 13 points off turnovers.
Redlands returns home to Currier for a home game this Wednesday, January 19 when they host the University of La Verne beginning at 7:00pm.