THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Tonight inside the Gilbert Arena the top two Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) women's basketball teams converged with the Regals falling to the Athenas, 61-53, to remain second in the league standings while CMS maintains its undefeated mark.
The first quarter was full of poor shooting and tough defense on both sides of the court as the home and visiting teams shot 27.3 and 21.4 percent, respectively. CMS opened a 5-0 lead before CLU got on the board and at the end of 10 minutes the score read 9-9 in the lowest scoring quarter of the season for the Regals. A surge in the second propelled the Violet and Gold to a 24-20 lead at the intermission.
Out of the break, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps struck first and both teams heated up. At the end of 30 minutes of action, the Athenas had turned a four-point deficit into a six-point lead at 40-34 entering the final frame. The Athenas would maintain that lead as the Regals continued to struggle offensively.
Cal Lutheran was led by 10 points from Kiana Gray while Taylor Messick finished with nine and Jessica Salottolo added eight. Chelsea Jacoby handed out four assists and Sofia Cruz tallied three. Defensively, Messick came down with six rebounds to lead the way and Salottolo nabbed five. Both Jacoby and Haley Hodgson earned a pair of steals and Jacoby and Janelle Porter each had a block.
Overall, CLU shot a dismal 36.7 percent from the field and went 0-for-6 in the second half from three-point range to finish the night just 3-for-12. The Regals combined to pull down 31 rebounds.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (13-4, 8-0 SCIAC) was led by 15 points from Kris Brachmann with Jai Dungca and Kailee Severt scoring 11 and 10, respectively. Mara Falahee paced all players with eight rebounds tonight. CMS teamed up for a 40.7 shooting percentage in the game and grabbed 35 total rebounds.
Cal Lutheran (13-5, 7-2) returns to action at the Gilbert Arena on Saturday, Jan. 30 when the Regals round out a full day of home events with a 4:00 p.m. tip-off against Redlands. In the morning CLU swimming and diving will host the Bulldogs, meanwhile the softball season opening double header will feature the Regals and St. Katherine for a pair beginning at noon on Hutton Field and the Kingsmen basketball team will face off with UR at 2:00 p.m.
Box Score: CMS 61, CLU 53
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