THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Looking for their third straight win, the Cal Lutheran women's basketball team was dominant on both ends of the floor in an 81-62 victory over Pomona-Pitzer inside Gilbert Arena on Wednesday night.
Point guard Natalie Stone flirted with a triple-double finishing with eight points, nine assists and eight rebounds as she led the Regals offensive attack. Led by Stone, the Violet and Gold pushed the tempo and outscored the Sagehens 26-0 in fast break points and 20-3 off of 15 forced turnovers. CLU owned the paint as well, outscoring the Hens 50-28.
Jessica Salottolo got off to a hot start scoring 11 points in the first 10 minutes and helped CLU jump out to an early 19-12 lead. The Regals maintained a five point lead for much of the first half until Kiana Gray entered the game and provided a spark.
With a 27-23 lead with just over three minutes remaining in the period, Gray drove in the lane and converted a lay-up followed by another basket one minute later giving the Regals an eight point lead. A Haley Hodgson free-throw gave CLU a 34-25 advantage heading into the break.
In the second half, an early Salottolo three-pointer and two lay-ups from Katy Lindor pushed the CLU lead to 15 points, holding a 46-31 lead with 15:47 remaining in the game.
Sofia Cruz used her speed on multiple occasions to sprint past the Sagehen defense and at one point found herself open for three straight fast break lay-ups courtesy of Stone's court vision and nice passing from Chelsea Jacoby.
The Regals shot 51.5 percent from the field in the second half and their 81-point outburst is their highest point total of the season. CLU also knocked down five three-pointers in the second half as they outscored Pomona-Pitzer 47-37 in the period.
Salottolo led the way with 18 points and Jacoby provided a strong all-around effort with 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals. Hodgson nearly had a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds and Lindor added nine points and six rebounds. Four different Regals tallied at least four assists in the game and 10 different Regals scored in the team win.
Pomona-Pitzer (4-15, 3-7 SCIAC) was led by Basha Brulee-Wills who had 18 points while Amelia Hummel added 15 and pulled down eight boards.
Cal Lutheran (13-6, 8-2 SCIAC) will head out on the road to face Redlands this Saturday, Feb. 7 at 5:00 p.m.
Box Score: CLU 81, PP 62
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