THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – After a short Christmas break away from the court, Cal Lutheran, faced off against the undefeated Polar Bears of Bowdoin College inside Gilbert Arena. The short-handed Regals, playing without three of their five starters due to a multitude of injuries, fell to their nonconference foes 99-49.
Taylor Oshiro led the way for the Purple and Gold with a career-high 15 points. Oshiro also had a team-high five rebounds. Haley Tyrell added 11 points and three rebounds, and Karly Beyers and Natalie Ruhl chipped in eight and seven points, respectively.
The game started off with a 9-2 Bowdoin run before Cal Lutheran called for a timeout early in the first quarter. After a quick 15-4 lead was established by the opponents, Cal Lutheran buckled down with a layup and a deep three pointer, both from Oshiro. However, offensive rebounds and second-chance points were huge and the Polar Bears capitalized off these immensely. It was the away team up big at the end of the first, score being 24-11.
The Purple and Gold scored first in the second quarter with a tough driving layup by Oshiro. However, Bowdoin went on a quick 6-0 run, hitting three close-range shots in three possessions before Cal Lutheran took another timeout with 7:16 left in the half. Bowdoin was hitting the Regals with full-court press defense, often causing turnovers and bad looks on the offensive side. After the timeout, Bowdoin quickly jumped to a 22-point lead, with another layup and three-point shot. The Regals battled back and hit a couple tough layups made by Oshiro and Kamakani Deblake, as well a long three pointer from Oshiro, her second of the night. However, they were unable to stop the opponents on offense, and Bowdoin eventually built their lead up to 31 after two made free throws with 1:15 left to go in the quarter. After the two teams traded baskets at the end of the first half, the visitors up big 54-23.
The start of the third quarter began with the CLU making their attempt from the field, a made a layup by DeBlake with 7:06 left in third. The Polar Bears played pressuring defense all game and seemed to match scores every time Cal Lutheran made a basket. The away team built their lead up to 39 before the Regals added two free throws by Ruhl and a tough and-one layup by Beyers, giving the Regals a quick 5-0 run before Bowdoin took a timeout with 5:56 left in the quarter. There was some more battling, but with a tough presence on both sides of the court, Bowdoin was up 80-34.
The Polar Bears were very consistent in their scoring, hitting ten three-pointers and being nearly perfect from the free throw line. They were able to create turnovers and second chance points which opened up good looks for the rest of the team. They took advantage of this all game before the final score being 99-49.
Freshmen Kamryn Peters and Ashley Sahnazoglu each made their Cal Lutheran and collegiate debuts on the night, making an impact on both ends of the floor.
Cal Lutheran will look to turn things around when they return to SCIAC competition as they travel to face Chapman at 4:00 p.m.
Box Score: CLU 49, BC 99
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Release by Jakar Oriseh, Sports Information Student Assistant
