THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Cal Lutheran used a 24-5 run to end the first half and then held off a Chapman rally for a crucial 87-77 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) victory Thursday evening inside of Gilbert Arena. The Regals got a combined 46 points from Sofia Cruz and Jessica Salottolo as they scored a season-high in points.
After trailing for the first 12 minutes, Cal Lutheran went on the 19-point swing to end the first half and led 43-33 at the break. The Regals bench actually outscored the starters as Salottolo poured in 15 of her team-high 25 points in the first half. Taylor Messick was a key in CLU's surge to end the half, scoring eight points, including six-straight at one point while also hauling in six rebounds. Katy Lindor chipped in seven points and seven boards as CLU outrebounded Chapman 30-12 in the first half.
Chapman would begin the second half on the offensive, cutting the CLU lead to 49-42 after Natalia Ebrahimian and Kimi Takaoka each scored for the Panthers. The Regals would respond with three-pointers from both Keeley Anderson and Cruz to go up by 15. CLU would then play some of its most aggressive defense of the second half, forcing turnovers on three-straight Chapman possessions and built its largest lead of the game at 68-52 with 8:38 left to play.
CU would rev up its full-court press, causing problems for CLU's inbounds passes and later cut the lead to 77-69. But the Panthers would get no closer than eight down the stretch as CLU hit 9-of-10 free-throws in the final minute to seal the victory.
In addition to Salottolo's 25 points, she also grabbed seven rebounds. Cruz was second with 21 points to go along with a career-high eight assists. Chelsea Jacoby had a double-double in the win, scoring 12 points to go along with 10 rebounds. CLU nearly had its second double-double of the game as Lindor finished with 10 points and nine rebounds. Messick continued CLU's dominance inside, finishing with eight points and seven rebounds. For the game, Cal Lutheran outrebounded Chapman 54-28.
Andrea Villanueva led the Panthers with 27 points while Takaoka poured in 21. Lynne Higashigawa rounded out the Panthers in double-figures, dropping 11 points in the loss.
Following the loss, Chapman drops to 12-5 overall and 6-2 in the SCIAC.
Cal Lutheran (7-9, 3-6 SCIAC) will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 25 when it travels to Whittier. Tip-off with the Poets is set for 7:00 p.m.
Box Score: CLU 87 CU 77
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