THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Cal Lutheran used a dominant post game outscoring Caltech 50-8 in the paint en route to an 81-48 victory over the Beavers for the Regals' fifth straight win Thursday night.
CLU nearly got three double-doubles from Haley Hodgson, Chelsea Jacoby and Katy Lindor as each of them scored at least eight points and hauled in nine rebounds. All 14 Regals played in the game while all but two scored at least a basket. With the win, Cal Lutheran improves to 7-5 in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) and is now just one game behind fourth place La Verne.
CLU dominated from the get-go, scoring a first-half season high 44 points and led 17 points at halftime. The Regals were 20-of-39 (51.3 pct.) shooting and forced 12 Beaver turnovers in the first half.
Midway through the opening period, Keeley Anderson and Jessica Salottolo hit back-to-back three pointers to go up 25-10.
Caltech cut the lead to 12 with a little over a minute to play after Stephanie Wong scored four straight points but CLU would respond by taking its largest lead of the half with Sofia Cruz hitting a lay-up and Lindor converting on a three-point play.
The Regals would halt any hopes of second half rally by Caltech by starting the period on a 14-2 run and pushing their lead to 56-31. Jacoby opened the half with a three pointer, hauled in a rebound on the Beavers' following possession and then knifed through the defense for another basket. She would then sink a free-throw and a lay-up on the next two possessions to put CLU 23.
With 12:20 in the game Cal Lutheran pushed its lead to 30 after Hayley Jensen made a lay-up and then later found Lindor for a three-pointer, making the score 67-37.
The Regals would close out the game with Lydia Snodderly hitting a shot from beyond the arc, Jacoby scoring then stealing the following inbounds pass and putting in another basket and Gianna DiBacco giving CLU its largest lead at 33 with a lay-up with 38 seconds left.
Jacoby led all scorers with 15 points to go along with nine rebounds. Hodgson had 12 points and nine rebounds and Salottolo was the other Regal in double-figures with 11. Lindor finished with 11 rebounds while pouring in nine more points. Anderson also had nine on 4-of-6 shooting. Natalie Stone finished with five assists and five rebounds. Janelle Porter scored four points in seven minutes of action.
Kate Lewis led the Beavers with 13 points and five rebounds off the bench.
Following the win, Cal Lutheran (11-9, 7-5 SCIAC) can jump ahead to fourth place with a victory against La Verne on Saturday, Feb. 8. Tip off in La Verne is set for 7:00 p.m.
Box Score: CLU 81 CIT 48
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