While competing in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Postseason Tournament for the seventh-straight season, the third-seeded University of Redlands women's basketball team came up short against second-seeded Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in tonight's semifinal in Ducey Gym.  Despite senior forward Brittany Oster's (Agoura Hills, CA) career-high 31 points, the Bulldogs suffered a difficult 72-76 defeat in overtime in a game that came down to free-throws.

Amidst a back-and-forth start to the contest, the Maroon and Gray built a slight advantage at the end of the first half by firing off a 12-7 run to end the stanza.  Senior forward Madison Sanders-Curry (San Jose, CA) initiated the scoring spurt with a jumper before Oster converted seven points for the Bulldogs' 31-26 halftime lead.

The momentum stayed with Redlands at the start of the second frame, as the team came out of the locker room on a 7-3 run to make it 38-29 with 16:48 to go.  Junior guard Kameran Dage (Walnut Creek, CA) knocked down a critical three-pointer during this stretch.

The Bulldogs eventually made it a 10-point game at 44-34 with 11:44 left on clock, as senior guard Colleen Goeser (San Carlos, CA) drained a jumper to solidify the double-digit advantage.

However, the Athenas responded by converting nine free throws and a lay-up over the next four minutes to cut the deficit to five points.  Kris Brackman's pair of free-throws tied it up at 52 and then gave the one-point lead to the Athenas.

From here, it was a back-and-forth battle, with both teams jockeying for the slight edge by trading baskets.

But then Dage drained another huge three-pointer for the Bulldogs with 1:18 to go in the second half, pushing her team ahead by a score of 61-59. 

Watch Dage's basket here.

The squads continued to answer one another on each possession, but regulation ended in a 63-all tie, forcing overtime to decide the outcome.

During the extra frame, Redlands could not stop Kimberly Scamman, who successfully controlled the CMS offense and scored nearly all of the Athenas' points. 

Eventually Redlands was forced to foul, but CMS took care of its chances at the charity stripe and extended the lead to six points. 

Despite three huge baskets by Oster in the final minute, it was not enough for the Bulldogs to recover the deficit.

While providing 31 points, Oster shot a remarkable 12-for-24 from the field.  She also supplied nine rebounds, four assists, and two steals in a well-rounded, last game as a Bulldog.

Goeser stepped up with 16 points, five assists, and three rebounds, while Sanders-Curry completed her tenure at Redlands with a double-double on 10 points and 10 rebounds.  Dage rounded out the top scorers with 11 points, including three of the team's four long-range buckets.

The Bulldogs out-shot the opponents with a 43.9% performance, compared to their 36.2% showing.  The Maroon and Gray also knocked down one more three-pointers, but the difference was won at the charity stripe, where CMS converted 31 of its 38 chances.  Redlands was 18-for-26 from the line.

After taking third in the regular season behind a tie for first, Redlands finishes the season with a 19-7 overall record and a 12-4 mark in SCIAC.