The University of Redlands women's basketball team fired off an 80-49 victory over the visiting Bobcats of UC Merced, impressing in its home debut at the Redlands Tip-Off Classic on Friday night in Currier Gym. The Bulldogs enjoyed back-to-back scoring runs of 11 and 19 points to take a commanding 47-21 halftime lead and maintained control in the second stanza for the solid triumph.
Head Coach Rich Murphy's squad utilized 14 of its 16 players, with everyone scoring at least one point before the final whistle.
Early in the opening frame, the Bulldogs blew open a 17-15 advantage with their first of two scoring explosions. Junior guard Marika Staton (El Centro, CA) rattled off five of her game-high 18 points to lead the Maroon and Gray's surge. Her 8-for-10 scoring performance all came in the first half and resulted in the most points of her career at Redlands.
After a three-pointer by Merced's Samantha Oshiro with 7:31 to go in the stanza, the Maroon and Gray uncorked 19 unanswered points, with junior transfer Colleen Goeser (San Carlos, CA) leading the effort with seven points during this stretch. She finished with 11 in her first game with the Bulldogs.
From here, Redlands took care of business while giving all 14 players a minimum of seven minutes of action en route to the season-opening win.
Beyond Staton and Goeser, the Bulldogs gained double digits from junior forward Brittany Oster (Agoura Hills, CA) with 15. She also posted game-highs with seven rebounds and five assists.
As a team, the Bulldogs shot 51.6% from the field, compared to Merced's 34% showing. Redlands also bettered its opponents from long range, going 33.3%, while the Bobcats connected on only 25% of their shots from beyond the arc.
Merced gained 14 points from Leticia Oceguera and 11 points from Shelby Howard. Adrienne Carmona pulled in a team-high six boards for the Bobcats.
The Redlands Tip-Off Classic continues tomorrow, with UC Merced facing Chapman University at 5 p.m., while Redlands takes on Hardin-Simmons University (TX) at 7 p.m.