LA VERNE, CA — Alyssa Smith did it all as she led the La Verne women's basketball team to its fourth straight win, beating the Redlands Bulldogs 74-62.

Smith nearly posted a triple-double, finishing with a game-high 13 rebounds, 11 points, eight assists, and four steals. 

Chiara Brown led La Verne with 21 points, her third-straight game scoring at least 20 points and her seventh 20-plus point game of the season. She also added three steals, four rebounds, and a block.

The much-needed win keeps the Leopards on pace in a competitive SCIAC title race. La Verne improves to 11-4 overall and 7-2 in the SCIAC. The Leopards are in a three-way tie in the conference for second place with Occidental and Whittier. Cal Lutheran sits in first place with a 7-1 SCIAC record. 

The Leopards took over the game late in the third quarter, taking a 12-point lead after Smit drained a long three. 

Annie Trinh got hot to start the fourth, scoring eight points off consecutive shots to extend La Verne's lead to 68-14. She highlighted the run with back-to-back makes from beyond the arc. Trinh, who didn't make her season debut until January 15 against Pomona-Pitzer, has added a spark off the bench for La Verne. She finished with 12 points, three assists, and one steal.

La Verne took its largest lead with 4:05 left to play on a Smith connection to Brown, who finished with a layup to put the Leopards up by 15. 
 
Brianna Torres drained two three-pointers, scored 10 points, grabbed five rebounds, and dealt four assists. 

Nine Leopards scored in the win, with Marissa Howell, Naomi Jackson, Valentina Limon, Te' Limon, and Kristal Sullivan each getting in on the action.

The Leopards return to action on Wednesday, January 24 at 7 p.m. at Caltech.