During Saturday's Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) showdown in Currier Gym, the University of Redlands women's basketball team rallied for a hard-fought 61-60 victory over the visiting Athenas of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges to maintain its second-place position. The Bulldogs overcame a seven-point deficit late in the game to collectively hold their breaths as the Athenas took two final attempts to win the game in the last few seconds.

After trailing by eight early in the first frame, the Maroon and Gray uncorked a 13-5 run to take the lead for the first time at 20-19 with sophomore forward Brittany Oster (Agoura Hills, CA) bookending the effort with a pair of buckets.

Junior guard Ashley Sevilla (San Diego, CA) stepped up with five of her 14 points in the final minutes to give Redlands a 25-19 halftime advantage.

After the break, the Athenas came out firing on all cylinders and eventually built a seven-point lead midway through the period. During this spurt, sophomore guard Madeline Barnes (Kenmore, WA) knocked down three consecutive baskets to propel her team.

However, back-to-back three-pointers by sophomore guard Marika Staton (El Centro, CA) cut the Bulldogs' deficit to one point, which eventually inspired the sixth tie of the game at 47 apiece when sophomore center Victoria Fakalata (East Palo Alto, CA) drained a jumper.

After the teams traded baskets, CMS took advantage of a Redlands cold streak and suddenly owned another seven-point lead with 4:07 to play.

But the Bulldogs remained composed and determined while shutting down the Athena offense. Senior forward Courtney Carroll (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA) and Oster offered big defensive blocks, which led to a jumper by Oster and a three-pointer by Sevilla. Another jumper by Carroll tied it up at 56 with 2:16 left on the clock.

After both squads talked it over, Carroll stepped up with an and-one play that gave Redlands a three-point lead at 59-56.

Following a Maroon and Gray foul, CMS' freshman guard Kimberly Scamman (Northrdige, CA) remained steady by sinking a pair of free-throws to make it a one-point game with 1:30 to go.

Senior guard Mariah Barbetti-Cort (Ventura, CA) drove the hole for a critical lay-up but junior center Frannie Hemmelgarn (Seattle, WA) answered for CMS with a driving bucket of her own.

A scrambled play at Redlands' end put the ball back in the hands of the Athenas, who quickly moved the ball down the court for two potentially winning buckets, but neither would fall, resulting in Redlands' 61-60 victory.

Carroll led all scorers with 16 points to go along with seven rebounds, three blocks and two assists.

With tonight's 10-point performance, Barbetti-Cort sits just nine away from hitting her 1000th career point. She also pulled in a game-high 13 rebounds, including six on the offensive end, and dished out six assists.

Claremont (14-9, 8-4 SCIAC) gained a double-double from Hemmelgarn with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Barnes led the Athenas with 15 points while senior forward Kalika Tullock (Middleton, ID) chipped in 13.

Overall, the Bulldogs shot 42.6%, while the Athenas came in at 45.1%. Redlands held a slight rebounding advantage with 37, compared to CMS' 33.

Redlands (16-7, 10-2 SCIAC) looks forward to celebrating its seniors prior to Thursday's home game against Caltech at 7:30 p.m.