ORANGE, Calif. – Cal Lutheran women's basketball (10-2, 2-1 SCIAC) lost on the road to Chapman (7-3, 2-1 SCIAC) on Saturday evening by one point, 54-53. Alline Ballard recorded a new career-high 22 rebounds in the effort, and Natalie Villamor led the Regals in scoring with 14 points.

Both teams had trouble getting points on the board early, as a pair of free throws from Ballard gave Cal Lutheran its first points of the game with 6:30 remaining in the opening quarter. Ballard converted a layup a minute later to make it 5-4, advantage Panthers. A pair of layups by Janna Holley were the only other points scored by Cal Lutheran in the period, and a 7-0 Chapman run made it 16-8 entering the second quarter.

An Anna Sherman three-pointer cut the deficit to five points about midway through the second period, but the Regals weren't able to get any closer before halftime. Chapman went into the break with a 28-20 lead.

Three-level scoring from Kaiya Mack and three consecutive three-pointers from Villamor gave Cal Lutheran its first lead of the game at 36-34 with 4:40 remaining in the third period. Another Villamor triple and more points from Mack extending the Regals' lead to 46-41 by the end of the quarter. Cal Lutheran outscored Chapman 26-13 in the period, and the duo of Villamor and Mack combined for 23 of those points.

The Panthers' defense tightened up in the final quarter, holding the Regals scoreless until a pair of Ballard free throws with just over five minutes left. A free throw from Sydney Heyn gave Cal Lutheran a 52-47 lead with 2:22 remaining, but Chapman responded with a 7-0 run to take the lead on a backdoor layup with 23 seconds on the clock.

Ballard was able to get to the free-throw line, but she only made one of the two foul shots. Chapman got the rebound, but it turned the ball over with four seconds to go. On Cal Lutheran's final possession, Holley looked to attack the basket, but she lost the ball and time expired.

Villamor dropped a game-high 14 points (4/9 3FG) and added two steals on the defensive end. Mack had 11 points, all coming in the third quarter.

Ballard recorded a career-high 22 rebounds (14 defensive, eight offensive), beating her previous record by one. She now has nine straight double-doubles and is averaging 15.0 points and 11.3 rebounds per game, continuing to dominate in the paint for Cal Lutheran.

The Regals will look to get back to their winning ways in a home matchup against La Verne on Wednesday night at 7pm.