REDLANDS, Calif. — Emily Myers had 17 points and Kayla Valentine supplied 12 points off the bench, but the University of La Verne women's basketball lost the battle on the boards in a 58-54 loss to Redlands at Currier Gymnasium on Wednesday night.

How it happened: The Leopards dictated the pace early and grabbed an 18-10 lead with 4:32 remaining in the first half. Redlands' Victoria Fakalata then hit two consecutive layups to get within four, but Erika Rivera hit a three and La Verne took a five-point lead into the break.

Kayla Chism opened the scoring in the second half, giving the Leopards a 23-16 lead, and La Verne looked to maintain control of the game. But Redlands quickly tied the game at 23-23 aided by a three-pointer and a pair of free throws by Kameran Dage.

It was a tight battle from that point until the Bulldogs rattled off five straight points with about two minutes remaining in the game. After Redlands created a five-point separation earlier, the Leopards tied it at 50-50 with a jumper by Valentine. But the Bulldogs converted a free throw on the next possession and hit a couple of layups to get out to a 55-50 lead with 1:30 remaining in the game.

Riki Murakami made the next basket for La Verne with 19 seconds, cutting the lead to four, but the time ran out on the Leopards.

Stats of the game: Redlands outrebounded La Verne, 51-31, and parlayed the advantage on the glass into 18 second chance points to La Verne's 10.

La Verne got off more shots and converted at a higher clip, but Redlands negated that disadvantage with making 14 of 19 free throws. La Verne attempted just seven free throws and made three.

Player of the game: Myers and Valentine kept the Leopards in the game down the stretch with a tough basket after tough basket. Myers grabbed seven rebounds to go along with her 17 points. Valentine added three rebounds and two assists.

Reyna Ta'Amu had a huge impact off the bench of Redlands, scoring a team-high 12 points in just 11 minutes.

What it means: La Verne slips to 5-3 in SCIAC play and 8-9 overall. Redlands improves to 7-10 overall (4-4 SCIAC).

Up next: La Verne travels to Occidental on Monday, Feb. 2 for the second game of its three-game road swing. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.