REDDING, Calif. - The James M. Grant Student Life Center came to life over winter break as the Red Hawks took on Yellowstone Christian College on Saturday night in the second game of the 4th Annual Simpson Christmas Classic.
The Red Hawks started the game firing from behind the arc as Alli Ramelli and Estella Gutierrez both found the bottom of the net from distance in the first quarter. Gutierrez continued to extend Simpson's early lead with a mid-range jumper and a fast break layup to give her a total of seven points for the quarter giving the Red Hawks a 12-8 lead after the first period.
Simpson began the second quarter with two quick fouls, allowing the Centurions to tie the game at 12. However, the Red Hawks continued their success from three in the second quarter with Blanca Casamort Vila, Precious Jackson, and Gutierrez all hitting triples. Gutierrez added seven more points in the second quarter to bring her total to 14 and Alex Cooper scored five points off the bench to extend the Simpson lead at the half, 32-26.
Similar to the first half, the Red Hawks got things started with a three pointer from their sharpshooter, Alli Ramelli. The triple plus four quick points from Casamort Vila caused Yellowstone call a quick timeout. Despite the timeout Ramelli hit another triple and split a pair of free throws and Simpson found themselves on an 11-0 run to start the second half. The burst of offense did not stop there as Madison Cox and Whitney Armstrong each got easy layups in the fast break forcing the Centurions to call another timeout. After the timeout Yellowstone was able to stop the bleeding of Simpson's 15-0 run with a bucket. At the end of the third quarter the Red Hawks lead 53-35.
In the fourth quarter, Yellowstone was able to string together a run of its own and cut the Simpson lead to seven. It seemed like the Centurions could make things interesting until a Madison Cox putback put the Red Hawks up 10 with a minute to go. Simpson came out on top, ending the 2018 calendar year with a 65-55 victory, extending their win streak to four games and improving to 9-6 on the season.
Estella Gutierrez led the Red Hawks with 16 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists. Alli Ramelli added 13 points and seven rebounds including four three pointers.
Simpson will resume conference play when they take on Benedictine Mesa on January 3rd at 5:30 pm in the James M. Grant Center.
