St. George, UT - The University of La Verne women's basketball team traveled to St. George, Utah to take on Utah Tech in a non-conference match-up.
La Verne came into today's game 3-0, having won two of their first three games of the season on the road. The Leopards started today's game with aggression on the offensive end and tenacity on the defensive side of the court. Making timely shots and getting key stops, the Leopard entered the second quarter trailing Utah Tech by a score of 24-23. Guard Casey Kuramoto knocked down a couple of long threes to keep the game close in the first half of play. La Verne trailed 53-37 at the half.
La Verne would start the second half of play seeking to find the basket but was cold at the start of the half as UT went on a 20-0 run to increase the lead. Chiara Brown and Dejanee Gill would make plays to counter the run but it would not be enough to overcome the deficit as the Leopards would fall by a final score of 112-61. Chiara Brown and Casey Kuramoto each led La Verne with 14 points and 12 points respectively. Kendall Stanley added 9 rebounds and Dejanee Gill had 8 rebounds for La Verne in the loss.
Head coach Jason Pruitt wants his team to draw everything from today's match-up. "Today was a great learning experience. Playing NCAA Division 1 competition gives us an opportunity to see where we are at as a team and a program. It also gives our players an opportunity to measure their skill set and ability against some of the best talent in the country. We played a solid game despite the score and we have a lot of positives to reflect upon when we watch film. We will get back on the court and fix what needs to be addressed before we head into our first round of conference games. Once again, we are thankful and just happy to be able to play the game that we love."
The Leopards play at Whittier on Wednesday, November 30th at 5:00 PM.