THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - In her final regular season game inside Gilbert Arena, the lone senior on the Cal Lutheran women's basketball team, Natalie Stone,came up with key plays down the stretch to give the Regals a 61-57 victory over Chapman on Monday night.
With the win, CLU matches their longest win streak of the season at seven games and they clinch home court for the first round of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Postseason Tournament.
Playing in front of family and friends, Stone recorded a season-high 14 points, dished out five assists and matched a season-high with five steals. Her career assist total now stands at 280, moving her into fifth place in the CLU all-time record books and her single-season mark of 118 ranks her sixth with room to move up with more games on the horizon.
In their first meeting this season, the Panthers edged the Regals by two points and this matchup proved to be a close contest yet again. Both teams traded baskets in the early going until a Hayley Hodgson layup gave CLU some separation with a four-point, 19-15 lead with 10:48 remaining.
After the Panthers responded at the other end and a missed layup from CLU, Chelsea Jacoby stole the ball and converted the fast break layup. Jacobywas a big factor in the first half where she scored all 13 of her points and snagged all four of her steals.
On the following Regals possession, Stone got a layup to go after a heads up backdoor cut to the hoop was rewarded with a nice feed from Kiana Gray.
Moments later, Taylor Messick scored on an inside jumper to give CLU their biggest lead of the game at eight points, 27-19, with 7:35 to go in the first half. Chapman would chip away at the lead and cut the Regals halftime lead to two, 33-31.
Both teams were neck and neck to start the second stanza, although midway through Chapman hit back-to-back baskets to take their first lead of the half, 49-47. After a CLU timeout, Stone was quick to respond with a basket of her own on a well executed inbounds play.
The Panthers clawed their way back on top, 54-53, but Stone found Sofia Cruz and Katy Lindor for open jumpers on back-to-back possessions to return the lead to the Regals.
Clinging on to a 60-57 lead, Trianna Owen knocked down a critical free-throw to give the Regals a four-point lead and make it a two possession game. On the next Chapman possession, Stone came up with the biggest play of the game, sneaking into the passing lane and stealing the ball with 1:05 remaining and helping to secure the win.
Behind Stone's game-high 14 points and Jacoby's 13, Messick recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds and Lindor pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.
Andrea Villanueva led the Panthers with 13 points and seven assists and Megan Charles added 12 off the bench.
Cal Lutheran (17-6, 12-2 SCIAC) will head out on the road for their final two SCIAC contests, with the first coming against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps this Saturday, Feb. 21 at 5:00 p.m.
Box Score: CLU 61, CU 57
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