The No. 2 seeded University of Redlands women's basketball team (19-7, 11-3 SCIAC) took on the No. 3 seeded University of La Verne (19-6, 10-4 SCIAC) in a defensive battle on Thursday in a semifinal game of the 2009 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Postseason Tournament. Despite scoring 10 points in the final 1:07, the Bulldogs came up short by a score of 48-50.

Redlands struggled from the opening tip, plagued by turnovers and poor shooting. However, the Bulldogs forced the Leopards to also face their demons in an unaesthetic yet gritty performance by two of the conference's best teams. The Bulldogs shot only 27.9% from the field, compared to the Leopards' mark of 36.0%. Redlands turned over the ball 18 times while La Verne gave it up 19 times.

Down 16-23 at the half, Redlands worked its way back into the game with persistence and determination. The Maroon and Gray cut a 12-point deficit to five off of a 7-0 run beginning at 10:34 to go in the game with a three-pointer from the top of the arc by freshman forward Shada Sadeghi (Walnut Creek, CA).

With 1:22 remaining, sophomore guard Mariah Barbetti-Cort (Ventura, CA) drove the basket for two points and the foul, converting the three-point play to move the Bulldogs within three. After the teams traded free throws, Redlands added a basket from beyond the arc by junior guard Ali Bueno (San Jose, CA) in the waning seconds to make it a two-point game.

However, time just ran out, allowing La Verne to hold on for the victory.

Redlands gained 19 points and 10 rebounds from Barbetti-Cort. Freshman forward Courtney Carroll (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA) added eight points and eight boards.

Junior guard Emily Carrillo (West Covina, CA) paced the Leopards with 12 points and seven rebounds, while senior forward Trenecca Jones (Ontario, CA) added 11 points and four rebounds, including three on the offensive end. Sophomore guard Ashley Paul (Glendora, CA) controlled the boards with 10 as freshman guard Clarissa Holz (Huntington Beach, CA) chipped in 10 points and eight boards.

The Leopards head to Occidental College on Saturday for a 5 p.m. game against the Tigers for the final of the 2009 SCIAC Postseason Tournament. Occidental defeated Whittier College by a score of 79-51 in the other semifinal game.

Saturday's winner will move on as the conference's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Championships.