CLAREMONT, Calif. – The University of Redlands Women's Basketball team (9-7, 4-3 SCIAC) scored 42 points in the first three quarters before breaking out for 32 in the fourth. But the 15-point Pomona-Pitzer lead was too much to overcome as they came up two points short, 76-74, Monday night.
It was a tough start for the Bulldog offense as Carly Hicks' (Portland, OR) basket was the only Bulldog points scored in the first five and and a half minutes as they found themselves down nine, 11-2.
Colbi Zorich (Kenmore, WA) and AJ Wick (Henderson, NV) then came alive with six combined points over the next minute as they pulled within three, 11-8. A late 7-0 run with four points from Wick and a Leila Hosn (Seattle, WA) assisted, Alex Facelo (San Jose, CA) three turned a nine-point deficit into a one-point lead after ten minutes.
Hosn started the second quarter off strong with a pair of baskets to help the Bulldogs hold a lead through four minutes.
That lead, however, would become a 35-30 deficit at the half after the offense scored nine points and allowed 15 over the final 5:22.
It was a competitive back-and-forth third quarter that saw Redlands get within four in the first minute before falling behind by double digits twice and ultimately trailing by eight, 50-42, after two late Wick free throws.
The game appeared to get out of hand in the first three minutes of the fourth when the Sagehens scored 10 of the first 13 points and were up by their largest margin of 15 with only 7:31 to play.
A minute later the Bulldogs earned five points from Facelo and three points from Hosn to quickly close the gap to three possessions, 60-53, with 5:50 still to go.
The back-and-forth from the third popped back up as Pomona-Pitzer would score four points in :45 seconds to reclaim a double-digit lead before Hicks and Zorich combined to make it a six-point game :37 seconds later.
With the game in reach again the Bulldogs allowed a 6-0 run in less than a minute and a half to put themselves in a ten-point hole, this time with 1:15 left.
Facelo came right back down and hit a three and Wick scored four baskets in :19 seconds to make it a one-point game with :13 seconds on the clock.
Despite what would end up being a 3-for-10 mark at the charity stripe over the final :42 seconds for the Sagehens, they survived as Hosn's layup was blocked and her offensive rebound kickout to Hicks for the potential game-winning three as time expired was off the mark.
Redlands' offense was stymied for most of the game, shooting 35%, 40%, and 23% percent from the field in the opening three quarters before making 63% percent of their shots and five of their six threes over the final ten minutes.
Wick ended her night with a career-high 28 points and added 12 rebounds for another double-double. Hosn had her first career double-double with 11 points and a career-high 13 rebounds along with five assists.
Redlands will need a bounce back win against rival Chapman University inside Currier Gym on Wednesday, January 22 at 7:00 p.m. as they look to end their two-game losing streak.
