LA VERNE, Calif. - The Cal Lutheran women's basketball team shot 50 percent from the field and got a career-high 29 points from Jessica Salottolo in their 83-68 victory over La Verne on Wednesday night.
With 83 points, the Regals notched their highest offensive output of the season, surpassing their 81-point game they had one week earlier against Pomona-Pitzer. The win also serves as their fifth straight and improves their record to 10-2 in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Confernece (SCIAC) play where they sit in second place.
Once the ball was tipped to start the game, the outcome was never in question. CLU jumped out to a double-digit lead within the first four minutes and never looked back. Natalie Stone converted back-to-back layups in the early going and a jumper from Salottolo gave the Violet and Gold a 14-2 lead with 15:32 still remaining in the first half.
The Regals continued to hold their lead and began to steadily increase it as the game wore on. Still up by 12 points, 25-13 with 8:44 to go in the first half, Sofia Cruz found Salottolo open on the perimeter for a three-pointer. After La Verne made a small run to cut the CLU lead to single digits at nine, Salottolo buried back-to-back threes to go back up by 15 near the end of the half.
Chelsea Jacoby added 12 of her 14 points in the first half and the Regals went 20-for-40 from the floor as they took a 45-31 lead at the break.
Coming out in the second half, Salottolo continued to have the hot hand for CLU and scored their first four field goals equaling eight of their first nine points.
With 6:10 remaining, Taylor Messick knocked down a jumper to give the Regals their largest lead of the game, up by 22 points, 81-59. The Leopards scored eight straight points from that point but the CLU lead was insurmountable.
On her way to 29 points, Salottolo shot a very efficient 12-for-18 from the field including hitting 4-for-8 from downtown. Messick joined Salottolo and Jacoby in double-figures for the Regals with 14 points while Katy Lindor and Natalie Stone both had strong all-around performances. Lindor had five points, seven rebounds and five assists while Stone tallied five points, six rebounds and six assists.
La Verne (10-12, 7-6 SCIAC) was led by Kayla Chism who scored 19 points and Tiffany Hicks who added 14 off the bench.
Cal Lutheran (15-6, 10-2 SCIAC) will return to Gilbert Arena to host Whittier in the annual Play 4 Kay game this Saturday, Feb. 14 at 2:00 p.m. Each year, teams across the country denote a game to promote Breast Cancer Awareness and to raise funds for cancer research. Cal Lutheran encourages everyone to attend and support a good cause.
Box Score: CLU 83, LV 68
CLU Twitter: https://twitter.com/clusports
Follow Coach Goldblatt: @L_Goldblatt
CLU Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clusports
CLU Instagram: http://instagram.com/clusports#
