LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The University of Redlands women's basketball team used a consistent performance on the road at Occidental College Wednesday night to pick up their eighth Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) win, 83-77, as they improve to 12-3, 8-1 SCIAC.
Redlands has now won seven of their last eight going back to December 20, 2021 and are currently 6-1 here in the month of January. They had another great offensive performance shooting 52.8% from the field, 30% from three-point territory, and 77.4% from the free-throw line. Despite being outrebounded 30-27 they did win the battle in the paint 26-16 with 10 points off turnovers and 11 second chance points. They also had five players in double figures and held a massive edge at the free-throw line 24-8, which was needed as Oxy took 22 more shots than UR.
It was a high scoring opening quarter with the Bulldogs and Tigers combining for 46 points, with the U of R holding a four-point lead, 25-21. Senior Chyanne Pagkalinawan (Valencia, Calif.) led the Bulldogs during the period with nine points. After trailing by three at the 4:01 mark in the first quarter, the Maroon and Grey were able to get their offensive going finishing the period off on an 11-4 run. Pagkalinawan started the momentum swing with a pair of jumpers and a three-pointer and was joined by Alyssa Downs (South San Francisco, CA) and Angelina Roque (San Diego, CA) who would add a pair of free throws and a jumper.
In the second quarter the Bulldogs extended their lead to six, 31-25, after junior Julia Balestreri (Pleasanton, Calif.) converted on a layup at the 6:39 mark. Seniors Jordan Smith (Tustin, Calif.) and Hannah Jerrier (Canton, Mass.) made back-to-back baskets in the final four minutes as UR's lead grew to double-digits for the first time, 39-29. Like she has done multiple times during conference play, Balestreri was the centerpiece of the offense in the period coming off the bench with eight points on 4-6 shooting giving Redlands a 39-31 lead at the break.
The Bulldogs offense got off to a great start a minute into the third quarter with a quick 5-2 run thanks to a jumper from Jerrier and a three-point play from Roque. At the 5:29 mark the Maroon and Grey took advantage of a foul and a technical, knocking down three free throws to stretch their lead to twelve, 50-38 and were able to hold this advantage heading into the fourth (58-48). During the frame 17 of the Bulldogs 19 points came from the starters as Roque led the group with five points, a rebound and an assist.
Redlands had control in the early stages of the final quarter, leading by as many as ten points at the 6:19 mark. But immediately following the Tigers put together a 10-4 run making it a two-possession game at 70-66 with 3:12 left. UR then slowed the run with three free throws from Jerrier and Roque extending the lead back to seven. But Oxy didn't go away knocking down a three with 1:44 left that narrowed the gap once again. The Tigers then followed the triple up with a layup :22 seconds later getting within two. But despite the comeback attempts, the Bulldogs were able to weather the storm cashing in on all 10 of their free throw attempts down the stretch that secured the road win. Downs and Roque came up clutch making the final four free throws for UR.
Pagkalinawan finished with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, Jerrier posted a 16-point performance with five rebounds, two assists and a steal. Roque poured in 15 points with six rebounds and Downs added a 15-point performance on 4-of-6 shooting with another six boards. Balestreri came off the bench playing 17 minutes and chipped in with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting and also added five rebounds and four blocks.
Redlands returns to Currier Gym this Saturday, January 29 at 7:00pm when they face off with Pomona-Pitzer who currently sit in second place within the SCIAC standings.
A reminder to fans that there are no spectators allowed in Currier Gym during the month of January.