HOME OF BULLDOG WOMEN'S BASKETBALL - 1993, 2004, 2010 SCIAC Champions

2008-09 Summary: Women’s Basketball Sets Single-Season Program Record in Wins

A stellar crop of first-year players and a determined crew of returnees enabled the University of Redlands women’s basketball team to compile the program’s highest-ever win total in a single season, going 19-7 while placing second in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) during the 2008-09 campaign.

Head Coach Rich Murphy entered his second year guiding the Bulldog women’s basketball program and improved upon his inaugural season by two wins.

The team started out the non-conference schedule with a lopsided 66-31 win over La Sierra University before splitting with Trinity University (TX) and the University of Puget Sound (WA) at the Redlands Tip-Off Classic. Redlands edged a quality Whitworth University (WA) squad before finding itself on the losing end of a rout against Chapman University. Before heading into the New Year at 5-3, the Maroon and Gray defeated La Sierra for the second time and blew out Marian University (WI) before dropping a heartbreaking setback to Coe College (IA).

Redlands kicked off 2009 with victories over UC Santa Cruz and Drew University (NJ), both of which the Bulldogs won by more than 10 points. Heading into SCIAC play at a solid 7-3 record, the Maroon and Gray started off hot with two resounding victories over Occidental College and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges. The squad then hit a bump in the road, losing two out of its next three games.

An overtime victory against Cal Lutheran University righted the ship again and served as a turning point. Down 23-32 at the half in Thousand Oaks, sophomore guard Mariah Barbetti-Cort (Ventura, CA) used her grit and hustle to help tie up the game with 12:32 left to play in regulation. Both contingents exchanged blows, and the conference tilt remained tied at the second-half buzzer. Freshman forward Courtney Carroll (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA) laid the ball in at the 2:10 mark of the first overtime period, and the Bulldogs never looked back, triumphing over the Regals, 68-61.

In the ensuing game, the Maroon and Gray faced a tough test in Chapman and eyed a rematch against the Panthers. Redlands’ scintillating second-half, field-goal percentage of 67 percent helped bury Chapman in front of the Currier faithful by a score of 76-51. The team crushed Caltech two days later before suffering its final defeat of the regular season as Occidental avenged a January loss.

The Bulldogs steamrolled over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Whittier College and Pomona-Pitzer Colleges in the next three games, setting up a crucial matchup against the University of La Verne.

Tied at halftime against the Leopards, the Maroon and Gray used 48 percent shooting in the second half to push past La Verne by a 58-53 final. Junior guard Ali Bueno (San Jose, CA) tied up the game for the 11th time with a three-pointer with 10:55 remaining, and the Bulldogs remained in control from that point forward. With the win, the team tied the season series at one apiece between the two rivals.

Redlands locked up the No. 2 seed in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament with victories over Cal Lutheran and Caltech to close out the regular season, and the Bulldogs gained the opportunity to face No. 3 La Verne for a third and final time on Feb. 26 in Currier Gym.

Both teams exchanged leads throughout the first seven minutes of a defensive struggle, but the Leopards obtained the lead with 13:26 left to play in the first half and ended Redlands’ remarkable season by handing a disappointing 48-50 loss to the Bulldogs.

The SCIAC head coaches recognized the team’s excellence by placing a program-record four Bulldogs on the two All-SCIAC teams. Barbetti-Cort and Carroll both garnered First-Team honors while junior forward Meghan Yetman (Danville, CA) and Bueno earned a spot on the Second Team.

Carroll, who ranked in the conference’s top 10 in scoring, rebounds and blocked shots, received D3hoops.com All-West Region Rookie of the Year honors for her presence in the paint in her first year on the team.

Redlands’ sharp-shooting guard, Bueno, finished the season ranked ninth in the nation in three-point field goal percentage, shooting a 43.4 percent clip from long range.

As a team, the Bulldogs enjoyed the highest winning percentage in program history at 63.2 percent. Additionally, the 2008-09 squad set program records in field goal percentage (42.8 percent) and defensive rebounds (770).

With 13 of 14 student-athletes scheduled to return next year, the Maroon and Gray looks to be in prime position to take the program to the next level while planting itself as a perennial contender in the SCIAC.