WHITTIER, Calif. – The Regals have done it! Cal Lutheran women's basketball won its third ever SCIAC Tournament Championship in program history and first since the 2012-13 season, beating top-seeded Whittier 73-61 on Saturday evening. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
The SCIAC throne was earned from success on the defensive end. The Regals (22-6) held the Poets' (21-5) First Team All-SCIAC duo of Rhe Nae Leach, the conference's Offensive Athlete of the Year, and Lorita Salloom to a combined 14-38 (36.8%) from the field. 

Sara Mills drilled her first of her four three-pointers to get the Regals on the board, and from that point on, the Regals never trailed. Mills drilled another three and a layup for eight of the first 10 Regal points, kickstarting the purple and gold to a commanding 24-13 lead after the first quarter. 

Both teams struggled to find their rhythm in the second, as the Regals converted just 26.7% of their shots in the quarter, while the Poets hit 29.4% of theirs. Going into halftime, the Regals held a 35-26 advantage. 

Salloom scored the first points of the second half to get the Poets within seven points of the Poets' deficit, but an ensuing 9-1 Regals run transferred all the momentum to the purple and gold side. 

Three free throws from Alline Ballard and an electric sequence of back-to-back threes from Mills ignited the Regals' side and pushed the lead to 15, 44-29. Timely buckets from Tournament MVP Janna Holley and Alexa Greenwood down the stretch of the quarter made it 53-37 Regals at the end of the third. 

With 10 minutes to go, the Regals could taste their ticket to the NCAA Tournament. 

The Regals continued to pour it on in the fourth, as a floater from Ballard at the 5:12 mark got them their largest lead of the game, 62-41. 

The Poets wouldn't go down without a fight. Over 3:09 of game time, the Poets unleashed a 15-3 run to make it a 9-point game. 

With the clock ticking down, the Poets were forced to foul. Holley put the game on ice, going 9-10 from the line over the last 1:29 to send the Regals home as SCIAC Tournament Champions. 

THE NUMBERS
Janna Holley: 17 PTS, 5 AST, 4 REB
Sara Mills: 14 PTS, 2 STL, 4-7 3PT
Alline Ballard: 13 PTS, 17 REB
Kaiya Mack: 11 PTS, 7 REB, 3 STL

UP NEXT
The Regals will learn their NCAA Championship matchup and bracket during the NCAA Selection Show this Monday, March 3, at 11:30 a.m.