WHITTIER, Calif. – The University of Redlands women's basketball team (13-12, 8-8) secured a spot in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Tournament for the 17th-straight season with a 74-66 double overtime win at first place Whittier College Saturday evening.
AJ Wick, Leila Hosn, and Colbi Zorich got the Bulldogs off to a fast start in the first quarter with eight points in the first three minutes. At the 1:44 mark Wick assisted Zorich on a jumper that pushed the lead to 10, 14-4.
In a slow offensive second quarter Leaya McKinney's jumper with 2:44 left in the first half kept the Bulldogs ahead by two possessions, 22-16. Whittier, though, scored the final five points, cutting the lead to one, 22-21.
Whittier kept their momentum from the second in the third as they held a four-point lead, 36-32, after 30 minutes of play.
After trialing by six in the first two minutes of the final quarter, Zorich made a layup that began a 17-7 run that put them ahead by four, 51-47, with only 60 second remaining in the game.
In that final minute the Poets were able to score the four necessary points that forced overtime.
In the first five-minute overtime period the lead changed hands seven times but neither side was able to edge in front as they went to double overtime tied at 60.
In the opening 70 seconds both teams converted on jump shots, but with 3:28 on the clock Hosn got into the paint to take a 64-62 lead that the Bulldogs would hold onto the remainder of the game.
Carly Hicks consolidated the lead with a three 26 seconds later before Redlands made 5-of-8 free throws to secure the win.
Wick had 17 points, 15 rebounds, and four assists. Zorich had a team-high 20 points. Hosn once again came up just short of a triple-double with 11 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists. McKinney contributed an important 14 points and seven rebounds in 31 minutes off the bench.
The win ties the Bulldogs with Pomona-Pitzer for fourth in the final SCIAC standings. Due to a head-to-head tiebreaker for the Sagehens, they went 2-0 against the Bulldogs, they will be the No. 4 seed and will host Redlands, No. 5 seed, on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Claremont for the right to play at No. 1 Whittier Thursday. The qualification also means that head coach Rich Murphy has taken the Bulldogs to all 17 SCIAC Tournaments.