In a matchup of two teams tied for third place in the SCIAC standings, it was the University ofLa Verne which prevailed in earning a hard-fought 58-55 triumph over California Lutheran Saturday evening at Frantz Athletic Court.
The Leopards notched their fourth straight win in conference play and avenged a 71-46 defeat to the Regals from two weeks ago in Thousand Oaks.
The game appeared to be a contrast between Cal Lutheran's interior presence and La Verne's perimeter attack. In the first half, both teams utilized their strengths as the Leopards made eight three-pointers before intermission while Regal center Brianna Parker dominated the paint with 10 points and 5 rebounds.
Amanda Copas helped propel La Verne to a halftime lead on a layup followed by a three-pointer as the Leos held a 30-28 advantage at the break.
The Regals regained the lead in the second half on a triple from Chelsey Hastigan to go up 35-34 with 12:29 to play. Over the next six minutes, the lead changed four times before CLU grabbed a 44-41 advantage on a Channing Flieschmann three-pointer at the 9:26 mark. The Leopards would counter with a triple from Ashley Paul to knot the contest at 44 with 6;36 to play.
La Verne never trailed again, eventually building a 50-46 lead with 2:35 to play. A jumper from Mayra Duenas stretched the Leopard advantage to five at 54-49 with 1:00 remaining. Hastigan hit a three-pointer to pull CLU within two at 54-52 with 52 seconds left, but the Leos countered with a Megan Musashi layup and a free throw from Emily Carrillo to extend the margin to 57-52 with 25 seconds to play.
VIEW: Carrillo, Duenas postgame comments
The Leopards (9-11, 6-3 SCIAC) finished 9-28 from three-point range and outrebounded the Regals 38-34. CLU was held to 36.7% shooting (22-60).
Carrillo paced the Leopards with a team-high 15 points while Paul contributed 9 points. Parker led CLU (11-9, 5-4 SCIAC) with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
The victory coupled with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps defeat to Occidental puts the Leopards all alone in third place in the conference standings at 6-3. The Leopards will face SCIAC co-leader Occidental next Thursday at Frantz Athletic Court.
