LOS ANGELES — Cal Lutheran women's basketball (7-4, 2-1 SCIAC) fell short of a fourth-quarter comeback and was defeated by Occidental (9-1, 2-1 SCIAC) 85-81 on Wednesday evening.

Alline Ballard followed up her 29-point night last game with a new career-high 30 points tonight and added 14 rebounds for her fourth double-double in a row. 

Sara Mills added 17 points, Kaiya Mack had 10, and Janna Holley had an all-around game of nine points, seven assists, and five rebounds. 

With three minutes to go in the contest, the Tigers enjoyed a 79-72 lead, their largest of the game. The Regals then went on a 9-2 run to tie up the game at 81-81 with 49 seconds left. 

The Tigers scored on their end to make it 83-81 with the Regals having the last possession. Ballard drew a foul and got to the free-throw line with a chance to tie it up. She could not convert on the first free throw and had the second negated by a Regals free-throw violation. 

The Regals struggled to shoot from beyond the arc and from the field, going 37.7% (29-77) overall and just 19% from three (4-21). They were able to keep it close by outrebounding the Tigers 51-41, with 23 of those coming on the offensive glass. 

With the result, the Regals had their seven-game win streak (longest since a six-game streak during the 2016-17 season) snapped. They look to bounce back when they continue conference play against Chapman (8-3, 2-2 SCIAC) on Saturday, Jan. 6 at 4 p.m.