Rebounding Dominance Leads CMS Women's Basketball Past Redlands 47-41 for Road SCIAC Win

Rebounding Dominance Leads CMS Women's Basketball Past Redlands 47-41 for Road SCIAC Win

REDLANDS, Calif. – Sophomore forward Kate Parrish had 13 points off the bench and the CMS women's basketball team dominated the boards in a defensive battle to take a 47-41 road win over Redlands on Saturday afternoon, earning its sixth straight win.

CMS improves to 10-2 on the season and 2-1 in the SCIAC with the win, after outrebounding Redlands 51-21, led by 12 from junior guard Maya Love. The Athenas had 26 offensive rebounds on the day, compared to only four for Redlands (4-11, 1-5 SCIAC), and led in second chance points 15-0.

CMS led by eight early in the fourth quarter after a put-back from Love made the score 36-28. After Redlands responded with a 7-0 run to close to within one point, Parrish grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled, hitting both to make it a 38-35 game. Parrish then got loose under the basket on a fast break and took a feed from junior guard Lauren Longo to make it a 40-35 game with 4:42 to go.

Redlands had a chance to cut the lead to one late in the game, but a fast break lay-up attempt spun around the rim and out, and senior guard Corinne Bogle followed with an 18-footer from the top of the key to put the Athenas ahead 44-39 with 1:34 to go. After earning a stop, senior forward Ellery Koelker-Wolfe hit from almost the same spot at the end of the shot clock to stretch the lead to 46-39 with 36 seconds left, and CMS was able to hang on for the hard-fought win.

CMS held a narrow 21-16 lead at the half, and after Redlands scored to start the second half, the Athenas used a five-point possession to quickly build their largest lead of the game. Junior forward Lindsey Cleary made a basket and was fouled to put her on the line for one shot. The free throw missed, but Koelker-Wolfe corralled the rebound before Bogle hit a three-pointer to quickly make it a 26-18 lead.

The game was a defensive struggle right from the tip, as CMS held Redlands without a point for the first five minutes, but led only 2-0 at the first media timeout with a jumper from Cleary representing the game's only points. After a pair of foul shots tied it, Alyssa Downs made the first field goal for the Bulldogs at the 4:20 mark of the first quarter, giving her team a 4-2 lead.

Once the ice was broken, Downs stayed hot and added a three-pointer and a 15-foot jumper to give Redlands a 13-6 lead, but Bogle and Parrish each hit two foul shots to close the gap to 13-10 at the end of the first quarter. A Parrish bank shot, and a driving layup from sophomore guard Maezelle Millan extended it to an 8-0 run to give CMS the lead back at 14-13 early in the second quarter.

Parrish was the only player in double figures for CMS with 13, while Bogle (nine), Cleary (eight) and Love (seven) were all close. Downs had 11 for Redlands in the loss.

CMS will be back in action on Monday night at home against Cal Lutheran, which comes in as the only undefeated team left in SCIAC play at 3-0. A win for the Athenas would enable them to move in a tie for first in the loss column in the league standings.