Both squads came out of the gate with urgency, pushing a fast paced tempo on the floor. CSU Bakersfield would hold a 10-point advantage inside seven minutes, but a pair of Daidra Brown (Seattle, Wash.) free throws would close in on the Roadrunners double figure lead.
The first half would continue to play out with Seattle U working to cut down the Bakersfield lead, which was as high as 11 at 6:34.
Senior Tatiana Heck (Lynnwood, Wash.) provided leadership and size in the center. In her 14th start of the season, she grabbed down six rebounds in the first half. She would go on to lead the team with 11 boards, for a season high.
Salena Dickerson (Federal Way, Wash.) was like a silent assassin in the first half, preventing the Redhawks from falling in too deep of a scoring hole. She scored 15 points in the game, 12 in the first half. Dickerson also grabbed down nine boards.
Down 39-30 at half, SU battled back to earn their first lead of the game since the opening minutes of action.
A three-pointer from Ashley Ward (Irvine, Calif.) and a jumper from Heck, made it a one possession game under five minutes into the second half.
Bakersfield would add a jumper of their own, but Dickerson would slam a trey in from near the top of the key to make it a two-point game, 45-43, and Amani Butler (Corona, Calif.) evened the score on the Redhawks next drive at 14:51.
Sylvia Shephard (Alta Loma, Calif.) gave the Redhawks their first lead of the game behind a three-pointer at 10:17, 56-55.
On the ensuing play, Bakersfield's head coach would be ejected from the game and a pair of technical fouls were called on the Roadrunners, sending Elle Kerfoot (Surrey, B.C.) to the line. She would make all four baskets from the charity stripe to give Seattle U a 60-56 lead at 10:06.
She would go on to score 18 points, to score in double digits for the ninth consecutive game. She was perfect from the stripe, going 6-for-6.
With 4:49 to play, CSUB evened the game at 65-65 off a Nikki Leon three-point play.
Kerfoot would reestablish SU's lead with just over four to play with a pair of free throws, 67-65, but the Roadrunners would once again even the game on a pair of baskets from the line on their next possession.
Multiple SU turnovers and missed offensive opportunities allowed CSUB to retake the lead in the final minutes of action, which they would preserve behind a series of free throw chances.
In the game, SU committed 21 turnovers, which Bakersfield converted into 22 points. Seattle U shot 38.5 percent (25-for-65) from the field, while Bakersfield shot 38.7 percent (24-for-62). The Redhawks outrebounded the Roadrunners 47 to 40.
"I thought this was a game of runs," said head coach Joan Bonvicini. "After being down [by] nine points, I thought we did a very good job coming out of halftime .. I think we lost our mental toughness [after going up] and instead of playing to win, I thought we were playing tentative and not to lose."
SU will conclude the 2010-11 season on the road with five final contests. They will head to California for a pair of games at UC Davis (Feb. 18) and at UC Santa Barbara (Feb. 20).