The University of Redlands women's basketball team took the short trip to the University of La Verne to face the Leopards in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) match-up on Wednesday night. While holding the lead throughout the majority of the game, the Bulldogs enjoyed a breakout fourth quarter to solidify another conference win, with this one coming by a score of 73-53.
With the score knotted at four less than two minutes into the action, junior guard Courtney Chen (La Canada, CA) swiped a Leopard turnover and raced it back to Redlands' offensive end to initiate a solid 7-0 run. Senior guard Jade Cheldelin (Portland, OR) made the subsequent jumper off of a nice pass from junior forward Reyna Ta'amu (Lakewood, CA). On the ensuing Bulldog drive, Cheldelin completed a successful and-one play that began with an assist by sophomore guard Mandy Silver (Scotts Valley, CA), who then chipped in a lay-up of her own to make it 11-4 at the 5:04-mark.
By the end of the first quarter, the Bulldogs stayed in front with a slight 15-9 advantage.
At the 7:40-mark of the second quarter, the Leopards rallied to surpass the Bulldogs at 18-17. Ta'amu made her next lay-up to once again put the Maroon and Gray on top, which inspired a lucrative 12-4 run, with Chen, Cheldelin, and junior forward Allison Siksnus (Placentia, CA) contributing points. As the teams entered the locker room for halftime, Redlands owned a 29-22 lead.
La Verne managed to keep things interesting by registering 15 points in the third quarter. But thanks to near perfection at the charity stripe, the Bulldogs matched the home team's points to maintain their lead at 44-37.
As highlighted by the team's 80% shooting, Chen, Cheldelin, Siksnus, M. Silver, and Ta'amu went off for a combined 29 points in the fourth quarter to allow the Maroon and Gray to pull away. M. Silver was sent to the line twice in the last 30 seconds of the game, making 3-of-4 to give the Bulldogs a 20-point lead by the final whistle.
Cheldelin and Ta'amu racked up 19 points each and 12 rebounds collectively. Chen and Siksnus each added 11 points and M. Silver chipped in nine. In addition to shooting 51.1% from the floor, the Bulldogs dished out 20 assists, with Ta'amu, M. Silver, and Chen each distributing five.
Redlands (11-10, 8-4 SCIAC) looks forward to returning to Currier Gym on Saturday, February 11, for a 5 p.m. start against Occidental College on Senior Night. This weekend's doubleheader with the men also features "Family Fun Night", during which adults accompanied by children receive free admission.