THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The University of Redlands Women's Basketball team claimed the 2021-22 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Regular Season Championship Saturday afternoon following a convincing 85-62 win over Cal Lutheran University.
The Bulldogs continue to roll improving to 17-4, 13-2 SCIAC, have won four in a row and six of their last seven. With the win Head Coach Rich Murphy has now claimed his third conference title in his tenure (2009-10, 2019-20, 2020-21) and the fifth overall in program history, while at the same time securing the No. 1 seed in the upcoming SCIAC Post Season Tournament. The Maroon and Grey have now qualified for the SCIAC Tournament for the thirteenth straight season.
Four of five starters recorded double figures led by Hannah Jerrier (Canton, MA) who posted a double double finishing with 25 points on 11-of-15 shooting along with ten rebounds, an assist, and two blocks. Alyssa Downs (South San Francisco, CA) put up 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting, going 3-of-4 from behind the arc, coupled with four rebounds and four assists. Angelina Roque (San Diego, CA) posted an 18-point, seven-rebound, four-assist, and two steals effort and Chyanne Pagkalinawan (Valencia, CA) added 11 points with six assists and three rebounds.
Redlands finished the game shooting 54.2% from the field, 50% from three-point territory, and 71.4% from the free-throw line. They outrebounded the Regals 42-26, poured in 32 points in the paint, and picked up eight second-chance points.
Cal Lutheran tried to keep it close in the 1st Quarter, but the UR firepower on offense was too much as they would add 66 points across the final 30 minutes en route to the lopsided victory.
Jerrier got Redlands off on the right foot with six of the first eight points during the 8-2 run. That set the pace early and the Maroon and Grey never looked back. The lead grew to 12-4 at the midway mark behind four free-throws from Jerrier and Roque and a 7-2 run ended the quarter with Julia Balestreri (Pleasanton, CA) knocking down a jumper, Leah Tan (Alhambra, CA) converting a triple and Downs putting up two free throws.
Things got worse for the Purple & Gold in the 2nd Quarter as they got outscored 21-12, while UR shot 50% from the field, taking a 40-25 lead into the break. Grace Godines got CLU within four with the opening basket of the period, but after that it was all Redlands putting together eight unanswered that opened the game up (27-15). Back-to-back triples from CLU swung the momentum back into their favor soon after bringing the deficit back to single digits. But across the final 3:33 the Bulldogs would outscore the Regals 11-4 taking a big lead into the half.
The offense continued to run on all cylinders in the 3rd Quarter for the U of R. After giving up the first two baskets Redlands would settle in and find their range with eight of the next twelve points increasing the lead back to double digits. After that Redlands would answer Cal Lutheran basket for basket until the 2:26 mark when Jerrier would answer inside followed by a Downs three-pointer that made it a twenty-point game.
Across the final 10:00 minutes CLU would put up 17 points, but it wouldn't be enough to mount a comeback as Redlands would tack on another twenty that secured the road win.
Redlands has their final game of the 2021-22 regular season this Wednesday, February 16 when they host Caltech on Senior Night beginning at 7:00pm.