REDLANDS, Calif. - Four different Regals reached double figures and CLU outscored Redlands 45-43 in the second half but Cal Lutheran saw its six-game win-streak snapped Thursday night as it fell 82-71 to the Bulldogs. CLU trailed by just four with three minutes to go in the first half but the Bulldogs closed with a 10-3 run into halftime and the Regals would never recover. Redlands, the last team to beat Cal Lutheran, was 23-of-25 from the free-throw line and got 30 points and 16 rebounds from Brittany Oster.
With the loss, Cal Lutheran falls to 8-6 in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) and back into a tie for fourth place with La Verne.
Trailing 27-19, Sofia Cruz navigated her way through two defenders for a lay-up and cut the Bulldog lead to six. Following a Redlands turnover, Cruz would find Keeley Anderson for a jumper off an in-bounds pass to get CLU to within four at 27-23 with 3:25 left in the half. Redlands however, would hold the Regals to just 1-of-5 shooting the rest of the half and then later hit a three-pointer in the final minute to take a 39-26 lead into halftime.
Despite playing strong defense, Cal Lutheran's cold-shooting lingered after intermission as the Regals didn't score a basket for the first field through the first six minutes of the second half. Jessica Salottolo later came up with a steal and found Cruz who ended the offensive drought at the 6:43 mark with a three-point play that cut the Redlands lead to 51-34. Salottolo would come up with her second steal in as many possessions and then scored on the offensive end, pulling CLU to within 15.
Redlands would maintain its 15-point cushion for the next eight minutes before Cal Lutheran made its final push. Trailing 64-50, Cal Lutheran would get baskets from Anderson and Salottolo and free-throws from Janelle Porter and Taylor Messick and trimmed the Bulldogs' lead down to 10 at 68-58 with 4:39 remaining.
Unfortunately for CLU, Redlands would close out the final four minutes by making all 12 of its free-throws and sealed its fourth win in the last five games.
Salottolo led Cal Lutheran with 20 points off the bench while Porter scored a career-high 10 in 22 minutes. Anderson and Chelsea Jacoby each had 12 points to round out the CLU scorers in double-figures.
In addition to Oster, Redlands also got 22 points from Colleen Goeser and 16 more from Kameran Dage.
With the win, Redlands improves to 18-5 overall and 11-3 in the SCIAC.
Cal Lutheran (12-10 overall, 8-6 SCIAC) will close out its non-conference schedule on Saturday, Feb. 15, when it hosts UC Santa Cruz at 3:00 p.m.
Box Score: UR 82 CLU 71
CLU Twitter: https://twitter.com/clusports
Follow Natalie: @RegalsHoops
CLU Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clusports
CLU Instagram: http://instagram.com/clusports#
