The University of Redlands women's basketball team closed out the 2012 Redlands Tip-Off Classic with an exciting 55-49 victory over regional foe Hardin-Simmons University (TX) on Saturday night, as two newcomers stepped up for the Bulldogs in the final minutes.
Up by a score of 49-46 with less than five minutes to go, freshman forwardBrinsley Farry (Ventura, CA) knocked down a huge three-pointer off of an assist by junior transfer Colleen Goeser (San Carlos, CA) to make it a six-point game. After a missed bucket by the Cowgirls, Goeser also found her sweet spot on an outside jumper to make it a three-possession game at 54-46 with 3:43 left on the clock.
A defensive struggle ensued, as Redlands prevailed in the exciting showdown.
Junior guard Marika Staton (El Centro, CA) continued to impress with a 6-for-12 performance, including a trio of buckets from downtown, en route to a 16-point effort. She joined forces with senior guard Allison Wong (Redding, CA) in the first half to break open a tie at 22 apiece, with back-to-back long balls from the duo. The Bulldogs never trailed from that moment on and took a 31-28 halftime lead into the locker room.
Overall, the Bulldogs converted 15 of their free-throw chances, which proved to be pivotal to the outcome. In addition, the squad sank six three-pointers on the night, with senior guard Ashley Sevilla (San Diego, CA) adding to the arsenal with her first of the season.
Goeser finished with five of her team's nine assists to go along with seven points.
Beyond the scoring, junior forward Brittany Oster (Agoura Hills, CA) came up with critical rebounds, nabbing nine on the night.
Hardin-Simmons gained 10 points from Alexis Popelar and 14 from Jamie Heflin. Coco Cartwright served as the team's top rebounder with nine boards, including three on the offensive end.
Redlands (2-0) looks forward to testing their talents against the No. 2 team in the nation on Wednesday, when George Fox University (OR) comes to Currier Gym for a 6 p.m. tip-off.
In Saturday's first game of the Redlands Tip-Off Classic, Chapman University staved off a persistent UC Merced team in a 78-63 decision. Both teams struggled with turnovers, amassing 56 between them, but the Panthers found their edge by dominating the boards with a 47-23 margin, including 30 on the offensive end.
Although the Bobcats shot 53.8% on the night, they had a hard time dealing with the pressure defense of their opponents, leading to shortened possessions and fewer offensive opportunities.
Chapman led by as many as 12 in the first half but UC Merced refused to go away, tying it up at 30-all when Leticia Oceguera hit both of her free throws with 4:16 to go.
The Panthers surged ahead again only to watch UC Merced claw its way back at 34 apiece.
However, a pair of Chapman three-pointers late in the stanza, including Anne Yoshimura's bucket at the buzzer, provided a 44-36 advantage at the break.
From here, the Panthers maintained a minimum of five points between them and their opponents. Kimi Takaoka made sure of it, lighting up the scoreboard for 35 points off of 13-for-22 shooting, highlighted by six threes. Her total of 50 points in the tournament ties the event record, which was established by fellow Panther, Kristen Chidley, back in 2004.
Sandra Gao added 15 points and Emily McCoy chipped in 11 for Chapman. Gao led all players with 13 rebounds, including nine on the offensive end.
UC Merced looked to Shelby Howard to score 20 points, while Kayla Polman and Oceguera added 13 and 12, respectively.
The 2012 All-Tournament team included:
Shelby Howard – UC Merced
Kimi Takaoka – Chapman
Alexis Popelar – Hardin-Simmons
Marika Staton – Redlands
Brittany Oster – Redlands