On its third trip to the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Postseason Tournament, the University of Redlands women's basketball team finally struck gold by defeating the Occidental College Tigers in the final and earning a spot at the NCAA Championships for the first time in school history. In a hard-fought game between the 2010 SCIAC co-champions, the Bulldogs finally prevailed in overtime by a heart-stopping tally of 55-54 after fending off a last-second, potentially game-winning shot by the Tigers.

The Bulldogs saw a six-point halftime lead disappear when the Tigers opened the second period with a 9-3 run. A back-and-forth game ensued with neither team breaking away by more than four points.

After junior guard Dior Williams (Indianapolis, IN) hit back-to-back free throws for Occidental, the Tigers held a three-point lead with 28 seconds remaining.

Following a Redlands timeout, senior guard Ali Bueno (San Jose, CA) knocked down one of her four three-pointers on the night, tying the game at 49 with 12 seconds left.

Occidental had a chance to win it in the final seconds but missed the shot, sending the game to overtime.

Redlands jumped out of the gates with a 6-0 run and seemed to be in control at 55-49 with only 1:29 left on the clock.

However, Occidental's junior guard Stephanie Babij (Ontario, OR) simply took over the game with five straight points to cut the lead to one with 38 seconds left in the overtime period.

Forced to foul, Occidental sent the Bulldogs to the charity stripe with a chance to make it a three-point game. But Redlands missed the front end of the one-and-one play and the Tigers recovered the rebound with 15 seconds to go. A final shot just missed, giving the one-point victory and the automatic berth to the Bulldogs.

Junior guard Mariah Barbetti-Cort (Ventura, CA) led Redlands with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Bueno provided 17 points on 5-for-9 shooting, while sophomore forward Courtney Carroll (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA) chipped in 12 points and three blocks.

Occidental gained an impressive performance from Babij with 25 points, 10 rebounds and three steals. Freshman forward Makenzie Brandon (Seattle, WA) contributed 10 points, as senior guard Britinee Yasukochi (Oceanside, CA) came up with 10 assists.

With the win, Redlands (22-5) gains the SCIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, making its inaugural trip in women's basketball. The official announcement of the tournament is slated for Monday, March 1, at 9:30 a.m. on NCAA.com. The first round of the playoffs takes place on Friday, March 5, at a site to be determined.