REDLANDS, Calif. – In their second-to-last home game of the season, the University of Redlands Women's Basketball team (10-12, 5-8 SCIAC) found themselves down by double figures against the University of La Verne Wednesday evening inside Currier Gym before storming back to take a fourth quarter lead, before falling 78-69 to the Leopards.
AJ Wick (Henderson, NV) scored the first five points of the game to put the Bulldogs up 5-0 early. The Leopards, though, scored 19 of the final 26 points of the period as they held a 19-12 lead.
The deficit in the second quarter grew to as many as 12 multiple times, but Krista Karban (Murrieta, CA) and Leila Hosn (Seattle, WA) would each convert over the final :33 seconds to make it a 40-30 halftime hole for the U of R.
The lead was cut to six, 52-46, with 3:53 on the clock in the third quarter when Colbi Zorich (Kenmore, WA) scored on a fastbreak off a Wick assist, but La Verne would score the next four points to reestablish their double-digit lead, 56-46, with 2:06 remaining.
Over the final 1:55 Carly Hicks (Portland, OR) and Alex Facelo (San Jose, CA) would each connect on three-pointers to close the gap to four, 58-54, with ten minutes to play.
This 8-2 run to end the third extended to 13-2 when Hosn found Zorich for another fastbreak basket and Facelo hit from deep for giving the Maroon and Grey their second lead, 59-58.
That lead would last just over a minute as La Verne would finish in the paint after taking a 30-second timeout. From that point down to the 4:41 mark the Leos would outscore the Bulldogs 11-3 going up seven, 69-62.
Redlands, however, did not fold. Hosn scored four unanswered points, and after a pair of La Verne free throws, Wick found Facelo four a three with :46 seconds left in the game making it a two-point margin.
This is as close as Redlands would get as the Leopards would seal the win with a late shot clock three and a four-for-four mark at the line.
Facelo finished with 18 points thanks to six made three-pointers. That ties a career high and ties for the seventh most in single-game program history. She now has 65 three-pointers on the season, which is the seventh most.
Wick added nine points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, and three blocks. She now has 34 blocks this season, ninth most in program history. Her 525 career rebounds are 11th most.
Hosn is up to 112 assists on the season, tied for sixth most, and 30 off the record held by Cindi Pila from 1993-94.
Redlands ends their home slate with a match-up against Occidental College this Saturday, February 15 at 5:00 p.m. on Senior Night inside Currier Gym.
