Fueled by 37 bench points, the University of Redlands women's basketball team opened up the season with an imposing 63-49 victory over Southwestern University (TX) in the nightcap of the Redlands Tip-off Classic on Friday.
The first quarter was tightly contested as first-year Alexis Machain (San Diego, CA) knocked down a trey to go up 12-8 for the largest lead of the quarter at the 41-second mark. The Pirates closed the gap to two points with a layup as time expired in the first.
After Southwestern knotted the game at 12-all just over a minute into the second frame, the Maroon and Gray exploded for an 18-0 run that culminated with a deep-ball from first-year guard Marisa Urbano-Sedlund (San Diego, CA) to make it 30-12 with 2:49 left in the half. Five different players scored on the run, led by first-year guard Angelina Roque (San Diego, CA) with five points. Redlands' defense clamped down by forcing the Pirates into 11 consecutive missed field goals and five turnovers.
Southwestern scored the final bucket of the half, but Redlands went into the break with a comfortable, 33-15 advantage.
The Pirates came out of halftime energized by scoring the first four points in the opening minute, but a layup from senior guard Cassandra Lacey (Victorville, CA) slowed their momentum, making it 35-19 at the 8:54 point. Nearly midway through the third quarter, Machain put together a 4-0 run by herself to extend Redlands' lead to 43-27.
Despite the Pirates closing the gap down the stretch of the third, the Bulldogs still controlled a 45-31 lead heading into the final 10 minutes of action.
Redlands put their foot back on the gas and opened up the fourth quarter on a 12-4 surge that was ignited by another deep-ball from Urbano-Sedlund to open the period. After Southwestern scored out of a timeout, Urbano-Sedlund immediately answered with another three-pointer to help give the Bulldogs a 60-39 lead with about five minutes to go in the game. Urbano-Sedlund remained hot and connected on her third shot from downtown in a four-minute span to put her team up 63-41 at the 4:22-mark.
The Pirates slimmed their deficit late, but the Maroon and Gray successfully closed out the game in their 63-49 opening-night victory.
Urbano-Sedlund led the Bulldogs in scoring with 14 points off the bench and a 4-for-5 clip from the three-point line. Junior guard Kellis Dack (Vancouver, WA) stuffed the stat sheet with seven points, 13 rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Sophomore guard Alyssa Downs (South San Francisco, CA) also stepped up with nine points, five boards, and three assists, while Roque provided a spark off the bench with nine points and five rebounds. As a team, the Maroon and Gray's bench outscored the Pirates, 37-16.
Redlands (1-0) jumps right back into action on Saturday, November 9, to conclude the Bulldog Tip-Off classic against St. Catherine University (MN) at 4 p.m.
