The University of La Verne rang in the New Year on a winning note as a strong second half surge help lift the Leopards to a 67-45 triumph over UC Santa Cruz in women's basketball action Sunday at Frantz Athletic Court.
With the win, the Leopards (3-7) snapped a five-losing streak and notched their first home triumph of the season. La Verne also recorded a season sweep of the Slugs after earning an 86-67 win over UCSC on December 3 in Santa Cruz.
Leading 26-24 at half, the Leopards found themselves trailing 31-30 with 16:32 remaining before embarking on a 14-3 run during an eight-minute span. From there, the Leo defense continued to shine, holding the Banana Slugs to just four field goals the rest of the game. La Verne outscored 16-4 during the final 4:46 of regulation.
La Verne's defense held UC Santa Cruz to a 20.8% shooting percentage (16-77) from the field, including a 16.7% clip (6-36) in the second half. Moreover, the Leopard bench sparkled against UCSC, collecting 43 points for the game. In addition, La Verne collected 21 points off Banana Slug turnovers.
The Leopards struggled offensively in the first half, going 9-26 from the field including a 1-9 effort from three-point range, but connected on 7 of their 9 free throw attempts. The Leos did win the battle of the boards, out-rebounding the Slugs 54-46.
Emily Carrillo paced La Verne with a season-high 17 points while also pulling down 6 rebounds. Mayra Duenas chipped in with 10 points and 5 assists.
Scoring leader Ashley Paul was held to a season-low 3 points and remains 9 points away for 1,000 for her career. She along with Stephanie Shepard tied for team-high honors in rebounding with 7 boards each.
Danielle Mofsowitz led UCSC in scoring with 9 points while Lydia Andrews grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds in the loss.
La Verne opens SCIAC play at home as it hosts Whittier on Saturday at Frantz Athletic Court. Tip-off is 5:00.
