Staying out of reach of junior Redlands guard Rachaé Bell, junior La Verne guard Marissa Raya dribbles down the court. Raya scored eight points and led the team with 11 rebounds. The Leopards suffered a tough loss, 51-48, against the Bulldogs. The Leopards have clinched a share of the SCIAC title with a record of 10-2 in conference and 17-6 overall. / photo by Christina Carter
Taryn Aguilar
Staff Writer
On Saturday the women’s basketball team looked to avenge their Thursday night loss to Redlands when they emerged victorious against the Caltech Beavers at home, 69-37.
The win ensured at least a tie for the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Association title.
The Redlands game was a tough 51-48 loss for the La Verne women considering they came back from a 12 point deficit.
It was the Leopards’ first home loss and the Redlands Bulldogs’ seventh straight win.
The first half decided the outcome of the game. ULV shot 12 percent from the field while Redlands hit 25 percent of their attempts.
“We just looked out of it,” said Stefanie Foster, assistant coach. “We didn’t come out ready to play and they did.”
When I asked Foster and the players what they did differently to prepare for Saturday’s game after such a tough loss, they all said that they just put the game behind them and refocused.
Refocused they were, because the Leopards were definitely in a shooting groove Saturday night.
La Verne started out strong against Caltech and played consistently as such throughout the entire game whereas Caltech’s enemy might have been themselves with five turnovers in the first five minutes of the game.
It seemed as if La Verne were playing with a sense of purpose. From the opening tip, La Verne strived to get every loose ball, every rebound, and expose their opponent’s weaknesses.
La Verne proved to be the aggressor by jumping out to a 14-2 lead.
“Everyone was key today,” said junior guard Lindsey Shiomi.
However, many players and people in the stands felt Shiomi was definitely the standout player of Saturday’s game with 21 points under her belt. This feeling was only reinforced by the fact that Shiomi tied the school record that night of making seven three-pointers in one game.
In the last game, assistant coach Foster named Trenecca Jones as one of ULV’s key players. Caltech must have known something about Jones because she was heavily guarded the entire game and was even triple-teamed whenever she got her hands on the ball.
However, this strategy did not really work for the Beavers as Shiomi decided to shine through on Saturday’s game.
“The difference with our team is that we have great chemistry,” said Shiomi. “We all have the same goal; we want to win.”
Next Thursday is the ULV women’s last home game and their opponent is Pomona-Pitzer.
“I’m not worried,” said sophomore forward Trenecca Jones. “We’re still on top.”
If Jones continues to be a leader on the court and Shiomi keeps up her hot streak from behind the 3-point line, the Leopards should have no problem against the Sagehens.
Taryn Aguilar can be reached at taguilar@ulv.edu.