The University of Redlands women's basketball team took down the Tigers of Occidental College, 68-57, in the final game before the holiday break in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) tilt on Wednesday afternoon.
Although the Tigers came out of the gates with an early advantage, junior guard Alyssa Lee (Monterey Park, CA) converted an and-one to make it 7-11 at the 3:44-mark in the first quarter. First-year forward Julia Balesteri (Pleasanton, CA) also earned three the hard way just over a minute later to cut their deficit to four points, but Oxy ended the opening period with an 18-12 lead.
However, the Bulldogs used a solid team effort to slowly chip away at the margin in the second quarter. In the opening minute, Balesteri ripped down an offensive board that led to a jumper from sophomore guard Alyssa Downs (South San Francisco, CA). On the next possession, Balesteri grabbed a defensive rebound off the glass that allowed Downs to convert her second consecutive bucket to make it, 16-20.
With solid play on both ends, the Maroon and Gray gained momentum and went on an 8-2 run that was capped off by back-to-back steals for buckets to knot the game at 26-all with 2:28 left in the half. With another hustle play by the Bulldogs, sophomore guard Kim Friedman (Agoura, CA) chased down the offensive rebound, while senior guard Cassandra Lacey (Victorville, CA) drained the jumper to head into the break at 28-28.
By the 5:44-mark in the third quarter, sophomore guard Chyanne Pagkalinawan (Torrance, CA) slashed to the hoop and converted an and-one to give the Bulldogs a 37-36 edge. Downs capitalized on the momentum with five consecutive points for Redlands, including a triple that extended the lead to 42-38 with 4:23 on the clock. First-year guard Angelina Roque (San Diego, CA) closed the quarter with the final three points for a 46-41 lead in favor of the Bulldogs with 10 minutes left to play.
Roque remained hot and drove to the bucket for the Bulldogs' first three field goals of the period to put Redlands up, 52-47. On defense, the Maroon and Gray locked down and held the Tigers scoreless for over two minutes, while building up a 59-51 cushion after a lay-in from Roque with 4:00 remaining. Following an offensive rebound from Lacey, Lee drove in for a layup to give the Bulldogs their first double-digit lead at 63-53 with 2:11 on the clock.
The Bulldogs controlled the pace and knocked down their free throws down the stretch to cement their 68-57 victory.
Downs and Roque led the Maroon and Gray with 13 points. Lacey chipped in 11 points and five rebounds, while Lee came off the bench for 10 points. Jerrier and Balesteri dominated the glass with 11 and nine boards, respectively. Their activity on the board led to a 16-1 advantage in second-chance buckets. The Bulldogs also outscored the Tigers bench, 33-9.
Redlands (7-3, 3-0 SCIAC) concludes a four-game homestand with a non-conference battle against Lewis & Clark College (OR) on Saturday, December, 28 at 5 p.m.
