Led by junior guard Colleen Goeser's (San Carlos, CA) career-high 24 points, the University of Redlands women's basketball team raced past the University of La Verne in a high-scoring affair on Thursday evening, 86-82.  The victory jumped the Bulldogs into a tie for third place in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) standings with six conference games to play.

Sophomore guard Claire Stach (Portland, OR) made three easy buckets within the first three minutes, helping the Maroon and Gray jump out to an early 10-3 lead.

The fast-paced, high-octane La Verne offense quickly brought the Leopards back into the game, however, as they pulled to within one with 14:57 left in the first half.  Redlands then used another 10-3 offensive spurt to regain momentum and control of the contest.

With 8:47 remaining before halftime, the Leopards had once again cut into the Bulldogs' lead, and trailed by just two points after a Lindsey Foster layup.

It was back and forth during the rest of the first stanza, with the two teams trading baskets and getting up and down the court.  At the halftime buzzer, the U of R led 47-45, while holding the Leopards to a 40.4% shooting effort from the field and just 5-of-19 from long range as a team.  Redlands, however, shot the ball extremely well during the first 20 minutes, registering a 53.8% shooting effort overall. 

The Leopards came out on fire in the second half, going on a 25-11 run, and with 11:22 left in regulation, had their biggest lead of the game at 70-58.

Redlands slowly inched back into the game, however, and cut the lead to six points with 8:39 remaining after four-straight Goeser points.

Goeser continued to lead the charge, breaking the La Verne full-court press on a number of occasions, and after she converted a free throw with 6:45 remaining in the second half, the game was tied at 74-74.

Continuing to stay strong on the boards defensively, while also attacking the rim offensively, junior forward Brittany Oster (Agoura Hills, CA) got fouled, sending her to the line where she converted both free throws to put the Bulldogs up by two.

After the Leopards tied the game at 76, the next two offensive sets for Redlands saw junior forward Madison Sanders-Curry (San Jose, CA) come up big and grab an offensive rebound each time down the court.  She converted both second-chance opportunities for the Maroon and Gray with two clutch jumpers.

A layup by Redlands sophomore forward Vianna Amabile (Temecula, CA) then extended the U of R lead to six points with just 4:35 left on the clock.

The Leopards once again came back with a run of their own and tied the contest at 82-82 with just over a minute remaining in regulation.

On the Bulldogs' next possession, Goeser avoided Leopard pressure, and with the shot clock winding down, hit a running jumper to give the Bulldogs the 84-82 lead.  Solid defense then led to a La Verne turnover, forcing the Leopards to foul.

Goeser sank the two clinching free throws, and La Verne could not make another shot during the final 30 seconds, resulting in the four-point triumph for the Maroon and Gray.

Goeser's fantastic night was a result of a phenomenal shooting performance, going 8-for-13 from the field and 8-of-11 from the charity stripe.  Stach also finished with a very productive night, going 7-of-10 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the line for 18 points.  Additionally, Oster provided 16 points and 10 rebounds on the evening while Sanders-Curry grabbed a team-high 12 boards.

For La Verne, it was Foster leading the way with 23 points on a 10-of-23 shooting performance.

Prior to tonight's contest, La Verne was averaging 11.4 made three-pointers per game, but the Bulldogs solid defense all night long held the Leopards to a 7-of-37 effort from downtown. 

The U of R finished the night shooting 43.8% from the field and held the slight advantage in rebounds, 54-48.  Getting to the charity stripe also proved to be critical, as the Bulldogs made 22-of-31 free-throw opportunities, while La Verne only made 9-of-13 free throws.

The Bulldogs (14-5, 7-3), now winners of four straight, head to Whittier College on Saturday evening for a matchup with the Poets.  Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.