REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands Women's Basketball team qualified for their 18
th-straight Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Tournament, all under Head Coach
Rich Murphy going in as the No. 4 seed and Tuesday night the Bulldogs took down No. 5 Chapman University in the First Round moving them into the Semi-Finals against No. 1 California Lutheran University.
Tickets are available online using this
link. You can also purchase tickets on-site for $10. SCIAC students, faculty and staff with institutional ID and children under 12 are free.
California Lutheran University (No. 1): 21-4 overall, 13-3 SCIAC. Leads the conference in scoring defense (57.5 PPG allowed), 2nd in offense (69.3 PPG). Key players:
Janna Holley (Defensive Athlete of the Year/1st Team All-SCIAC),
Alline Ballard (Offensive Athlete of the Year/1st Team All-SCIAC), and
Kaiya Mack (2nd Team All-SCIAC). The Regals beat Redlands twice this season: 87-78 on January 10 in Redlands, and on a buzzer-beater January 31 in Thousand Oaks. They are the defending SCIAC Tournament Champions.
University of Redlands (No. 4): 19-6 overall, 11-5 SCIAC. Leads SCIAC in offense (73.4 PPG), 2nd in defense (58.3 PPG). Key players: Junior
AJ Wick (D3hoops.com Preseason All-American and 1st Team All-SCIAC performer), senior
Leila Hosn who was voted 2nd Team All-SCIAC, senior
Colbi Zorich and First-Year
Teagan McIIroy (SCIAC Newcomer of the Year). The Bulldogs are currently on a two-game win streak and during the regular season lost both match-ups to CLU.
The road to the SCIAC Tournament Championship runs through Thousand Oaks, and no team knows that road better right now than the California Lutheran Regals. The defending conference tournament champions and regular-season No. 1 seed host the surging University of
Redlands Bulldogs in a semifinal matchup that features one of the most compelling rivalries in the conference — and a rematch that Redlands is hungry to avenge.
No. 4 University of Redlands Bulldogs
Don't let the seeding fool you. Redlands enters the tournament as perhaps the hottest team in the conference, riding a two-game winning streak after defeating Chapman and Caltech, and carrying a 19–6 overall record into the postseason. The Bulldogs have qualified for the SCIAC Tournament for the
18th consecutive season — every season the tournament has been held — a testament to the culture built by veteran head coach
Rich Murphy, a three-time SCIAC Tournament champion.
The centerpiece of Redlands' attack is junior center
AJ Wick, a D3hoops.com Preseason All-American who averaged 15.9 points, 13.2 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game last season and appears to be on an even more dominant trajectory this year. Her combination of interior scoring, elite rebounding, and surprising playmaking makes her the most difficult player in the SCIAC to contain. Alongside Wick, senior guard
Leila Hosn quarterbacks the offense with one of the best passing rates in the conference, while senior forward
Colbi Zorich provides reliable scoring from the perimeter and midrange.
Offensively, Redlands leads the entire SCIAC — averaging 73.4 points per game — and their scoring margin of +15.0 actually tops Cal Lutheran's. The Bulldogs are deep, balanced, and capable of playing with anyone on a given night, as their Jan. 31 buzzer-beater loss in Thousand Oaks demonstrated: they were right there until the final seconds.
Redlands — Team Stats
Overall Record19–6
SCIAC Record11–5
Points Scored (avg)73.4
Points Allowed (avg)58.3
Scoring Margin+15.0
Last 10 Games7–3
No. 1 California Lutheran Regals
Cal Lutheran has been the standard-bearer of SCIAC women's basketball for two straight seasons, and the 2025–26 campaign has only reinforced that status. The Regals enter the tournament having won the SCIAC regular-season title with a 13–3 conference record and an overall mark of 21–4, backed by the conference's stingiest defense — surrendering just
57.5 points per game, the best figure in the SCIAC.
The engine of this program is a trio of proven All-SCIAC talent.
Janna Holley, a three-time All-SCIAC selection, brings veteran poise and perimeter shooting to every possession.
Alline Ballard, a two-time First Team All-SCIAC honoree, is a relentless force on the boards who averaged a double-double last season (14.4 PPG / 11.9 RPG) and continues to anchor the frontcourt.
Kaiya Mack, another All-SCIAC guard, provides the kind of explosive scoring — she erupted for 28 points in a win over Redlands last season — that keeps defenses honest. Together, the trio accounted for over 36 points per game a year ago and the group has only grown in experience and confidence.
CLU's identity is built on late-game execution. In both regular-season matchups with Redlands this year, the Regals pulled away in the final quarter — a hallmark of a poised, well-coached squad under head coach Kelli DiMuro.
Cal Lutheran — Team Stats
Overall Record21–4
SCIAC Record13–3
Points Scored (avg)69.3
Points Allowed (avg)57.5
Scoring Margin+11.7
Last 10 Games9–1
Key Players to Watch
Janna Holley3× All-SCIAC
Alline Ballard2× 1st Team All-SCIAC
Kaiya MackAll-SCIAC Guard
The Outlook
This is the most compelling semifinal matchup on paper, and the third time these programs have met in the postseason in recent years. Cal Lutheran holds every structural advantage: home court, top seed, superior defensive efficiency, and a track record of closing out this specific opponent when it matters most.
But Redlands is a different team than it was a year ago.
AJ Wick is one of the best players in Division III, the Bulldogs lead the SCIAC in scoring, and their buzzer-beater loss in January suggests the gap between these programs is narrower than the seedings imply. If any team in the tournament can flip a script, it's a
Rich Murphy–coached squad entering the postseason with momentum.
Expect a physical, hard-fought game with real drama in the fourth quarter. The Regals' experience, depth, and home-court edge give them the edge — but Redlands has the talent to make this one of the best games of the tournament.
Season Series
These two teams met twice during the regular season, and both games were competitive affairs that Cal Lutheran ultimately controlled — particularly down the stretch.
2025–26 Regular Season Matchups
Cal Lutheran wins at Redlands
January 10, 2026 · Currier Gymnasium, Redlands
CLU 87, Redlands 78
Cal Lutheran wins at home on buzzer-beater
January 31, 2026 · Thousand Oaks
CLU wins at the buzzer
The Jan. 10 matchup told a familiar story: Redlands controlled the opening quarters — winning both first quarters of each half — but Cal Lutheran asserted itself late, outscoring the Bulldogs by 14 combined points in the closing periods. The rematch on Jan. 31 was even tighter, with Redlands right in the game until a buzzer-beater sealed it for the Regals. In the postseason, the Bulldogs also fell to CLU in the 2023–24 SCIAC Tournament Semifinal, 71–59, as the Regals took control with an 11–2 run to open the fourth quarter.
The pattern is clear: Redlands can compete with Cal Lutheran for 30 minutes. Their ability to sustain it for 40 is the question.
