THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - After playing four consecutive ranked opponents, including three from the NAIA, the battle-tested Cal Lutheran women's basketball team displayed its experience and toughness in a 78-71 victory over UC Santa Cruz on Saturday night inside Gilbert Arena.
In a seesaw game that featured nine ties and seven lead changes, the Regals found themselves trailing by eight, 64-56, with less than a minute remaining in the third quarter. Right before the buzzer, Jessica Salottolo drove baseline and scored to cut the lead to six and give CLU some momentum entering the final quarter.
Despite three straight turnovers to begin the fourth, the Regals found their groove with 10 unanswered points, highlighted by a Salottolo three-pointer and clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch, while also holding UC Santa Cruz without a field goal until 28 seconds left in the quarter.
Sofia Cruz enjoyed her best game of the season and was hot from the field early on to keep the Regals alive after falling behind early. The senior guard went 6-for-9 from the field, including an impressive 5-for-6 performance from beyond the arc as well as a critical four-point play early in the second half.
Salottolo led the way with 20 points and Cruz was close behind with 18, as the duo connected multiple times for baskets. Haley Hodgson was also a factor in the post and finished with a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds. Grace Derksen joined the starters in double figures with 14 points on an efficient 4-for-7 night while hitting two three-pointers. Makenna Murray added eight points off the bench while Janelle Porter was in on a variety of hustle plays and tied for a team-high of two steals along with Murray and Cruz.
As a team, CLU shot 9-for-20 (43 percent) from downtown and finished 28-for-52 (53.8 percent) overall from the field while limiting UC Santa Cruz to a 26-for-63 (41.3 percent) night after a hot start. The Regals also won the battle of the boards after outrebounding the Banana Slugs 34-31.
Michelle Pool and Katie Young led UC Santa Cruz with 15 points apiece.
Cal Lutheran (2-5) continues action at the Las Vegas Hoopla this Tuesday, Dec. 20 against Regis (Mass.) at 9:00 a.m. followed by a game against St. Mary's (Ind.) on Wednesday, Dec. 21 at 10:00 a.m.
Box Score: CLU 78, UCSC 71
CLU Twitter: https://twitter.com/clusports
CLU Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clusports
CLU Instagram: http://instagram.com/clusports#
