With hopes of avenging an early-season loss to Chapman University, the University of Redlands women's basketball team fired off an 18-2 run in the opening minutes of Tuesday's non-conference game against the Panthers. In addition, the Bulldog defense shut down the opponents, denying any field-goals until the 5:11-mark.

However, it was not enough as the Bulldogs suffered a difficult 54-55 loss to Chapman in Currier Gym.

Despite shooting just 10.3% in the first half, the Panthers settled for a three-point deficit after making 18 trips to the charity stripe en route to 15 of their 21 first-half points.

During the second period, neither team could muster much of a lead. While Redlands continued to struggle with fouls and turnovers, Chapman's offense regrouped for a 45.2% performance.

Overall, the Maroon and Gray provided a 41.7% shooting performance and out-rebounded the Panthers by a 43-to-31 margin.

With the score tied for the 10th and final time, freshman guard Kaity Lykins(Simi Valley, CA) and sophomore forward Brittany Oster (Agoura Hills, CA) provided back-to-back baskets for Redlands' four-point lead with 1:44 remaining in the game.

However, Chapman's Emily McCoy answered with a three-pointer to cut the deficit to one just 11 seconds later.

On the ensuing possession, the Bulldogs managed three chances to score, but nothing would fall.

The Panthers gained a well-timed bucket from Anne Yoshimura to take the lead with 10 seconds to go.

After a pair of timeouts, Redlands set up a hopeful inbounds play that led to two opportunities, but again the ball refused to go through the hoop, resulting in the one-point loss.

Senior forward Courtney Carroll (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA) finished with her fifth double-double of the season, scoring 16 points and pulling in 10 rebounds. She also swatted four Chapman shots.

Oster stepped up with 12 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double of her own.

Kimi Takaoka turned in an impressive performance for the Panthers, supplying a game-high 26 points, which included a near-perfect 13-for-14 showing at the charity stripe.

McCoy added 13 points as the only other double-digit scorer.

Redlands (6-5) strives to rebound from its first loss in five games when it opens Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) competition on Thursday with a 7:30 p.m. bout with Pomona-Pitzer Colleges in Currier Gym.