On Thursday, the University of Redlands women's basketball team traveled to Occidental College for a showdown between the top two Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) schools. The Bulldogs entered the match-up with a perfect conference record while the Tigers hoped to equalize their only loss. In a gritty and physical battle, the Maroon and Gray came up short in the waning seconds, settling for a tie-for-first-place scenario with a 58-61 loss to Occidental.

After two double-technical fouls, multiple lead-changes and a last-second attempt to tie it, the game provided plenty of drama for this developing rivalry.

The teams traded blows in the opening 13 minutes with neither side earning much of a lead.

At 20-all, the Tigers erupted with 11 unanswered points to create a sizeable advantage with 3:49 to go. But the Bulldogs fired back with a 7-2 run to make it a 27-33 game at the break.

Less than two minutes into the second half, Redlands rallied to take the lead at 34-33 when sophomore guard Marika Staton (El Centro, CA) knocked down a three-pointer.

After the eighth tie of the game, Occidental capped off a 6-0 run with less than 10 minutes to play.

Redlands continued to battle but never regained the lead, eventually facing a must-foul situation in the final minutes.

The Bulldogs cut the deficit to one when junior guard Ashley Sevilla (San Diego, CA) sank a trio of free-throws with 17 seconds to go.

Oxy's Liz Little reciprocated with a pair of buckets from the charity stripe, giving the Tigers a 61-58 lead with 13 second left in the half.

With one more opportunity, Staton heaved up a final three-point attempt at the buzzer but it just wouldn't fall.

Redlands' offense looked to freshman guard Kaity Lykins (Simi Valley, CA) and Staton to lead the Bulldogs with 12 points apiece.

Makenzie Brandon carried the Tigers with her impressive 30-point effort.

The Maroon and Gray out-rebounded Oxy by a 37-29 margin but coughed up its most turnovers in conference competition this season with 24.

Redlands (12-6, 6-1 SCIAC) looks to rebound on Saturday during Fan Appreciation Night when it hosts the University of La Verne in a SCIAC doubleheader with the men. The first 125 fans at each game will receive a free Bulldog basketball T-shirt, complements of the Department of Athletics. The women tip off at 5 p.m., followed by the men's game at approximately 7 p.m.