CLAREMONT, Calif. – The University of Redlands Women's Basketball team earned a big win at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) on Wednesday night, 67-61. With the victory the Bulldogs move into sole possession of second place in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) standings at 12-4, 7-1 SCIAC.
In the first quarter the Bulldogs and Athenas went back and forth before Redlands started to pull away as they took a 10-point lead, 14-4, following nine unanswered. During the run, the Maroon and Grey picked up three points from Alyssa Downs (South San Francisco, CA) and two points from Colbi Zorich (Kenmore, WA), Hannah Jerrier (Canton, MA), and Carly Hicks (Portland, OR).
The Athenas responded with their own run of seven in a row to get within three. But with eight seconds left in the period Julia Balestreri (Pleasanton, CA) collected an offensive board and added the putback to give the Bulldogs their first points in four minutes and a five-point lead heading into the second quarter, 16-11.
Redlands and CMS traded baskets in the opening three minutes of the second period as the Athenas rallied to get within two points on four different occasions before the Bulldogs ended the final 2:39 of the half on a 6-0 run pushing their lead to eight, 31-23. Zorich added four more points during the run and Chyanne Pagkalinawan (Valencia, CA) made the final basket, a layup with :16 seconds remaining.
The Bulldogs defensive unit played great to start the third quarter, holding the Athenas to just eight points in the first five minutes, which allowed UR to open up a double digit advantage, 42-31.
CMS battled back with eight of the next ten points, which carried down to the 2:39 mark to get them within five, 44-39, their smallest deficit since trailing by four ten minutes prior at the 2:39 mark of the second quarter.
Aliyah Anderson (Oceanside, CA) then started a 9-2 run with an and-one with 1:44 left. Anderson had five points during this stretch, Downs added an and-one of her own, and Leila Hosn (Seattle, WA) hit a free throw. The last two points of the quarter went the way of the Athenas, but the Bulldogs led by ten, 53-43.
The Bulldogs led by two full possessions in the fourth quarter until the Athenas hit a jumper to get within four, 57-53, with 3:51 left in the game. CMS and Redlands then traded two baskets each before CMS scored to make the deficit two, 61-59, with a minute and a half on the clock. Jerrier, Pagkalinawan, and Downs each hit a pair of free throws over the final :44 seconds to close out the win.
Redlands received double figures from Zorich, who added a double double with a game-high 16 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Anderson added 15 points and Downs and Jerrier each recorded ten points apiece. Jerrier also had 19 rebounds, her 13th-straight double-digit rebound game. She also had three blocks, which now moves her into fifth all-time on the single season blocks list, one spot ahead of her 2021-22 season. Her 19 rebounds puts her in a tie for fifth all-time for single-game rebounds.
The Bulldogs return to Currier Gym for a SCIAC game with Occidental College this Saturday, January 21 with tipoff set for 5:00pm.