The University of Redlands women's basketball team took the short trip West to the University of La Verne to open Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play against the Leopards on Wednesday night. Despite a late push from La Verne in the fourth, the Bulldogs had built a large enough lead to secure the 73-67 win on the road.

Despite the Leopards building a 4-0 lead to begin the game, senior guard Cassandra Lacey (Victorville, CA) hit a jumper that sparked a 6-0 run that ended with a layup from junior guard Kellis Dack (Vancouver, WA) to take a two-point lead at the 8:16-mark.  

A minute later, sophomore guard Alyssa Downs (South San Francisco, CA) got hot with a jumper and three-pointer to extend Redlands' lead to 11-5. Beginning at 3:12-mark, Lacey hit two consecutive buckets to enter the second period with a 17-14 lead.

With 7:30 left in the second stanza, Dack swiped a steal that turned into points on a sophomore guard Chyanne Pagkalinawan (Torrance, CA) jumper. Over the next few minutes, sophomore forward Hannah Jerrier (Canton, MA) and first-year guard Marisa Urbano-Sedlund (San Diego, CA) hit a layup and a trey-ball to extend the Bulldogs' lead to five points at 24-19.

Jerrier, Pagkalinawan, and junior guard Alyssa Lee (Monterey Park, CA) continued to rack up points to enter halftime with a 39-30 lead. Jerrier also added an offensive board and a block that turned into points in the final minutes of the second quarter.

The Maroon and Gray offense continued to cruise through the third period as sophomore guard Kim Friedman (Agoura, CA) and first-year guard Alexis Machain (San Diego, CA) combined for nine of Redlands' 20 third-quarter points. With just under a minute left in the quarter, Lee hit a shot from beyond the arc off a pass from Machain for the Bulldog's biggest lead of the night at 57-39.

However, the Leopards remained relentless outscoring Redlands 25-14 in the final period. Fortunately, Lacey, Machain, and Downs remained calm at the line, making six free throws down the stretch to secure the 73-67 victory.

Lacey, Downs, Lee, and Jerrier all ended the night in double-figure points. Jerrier also added 13 rebounds and two blocks for an impressive stat line.

Redlands (4-3, 1-0 SCIAC) returns home to take on Whittier College on Saturday, December 7, at 4 p.m.