LA VERNE, Calif. — Senior Kayla Watterson recorded her second double-double in as many games, Wednesday night, but struggled to get the offensive support needed as the Cal Lutheran Regals fell to the La Verne Leopards 69-49 in the second matchup between the teams.
Watterson notched 10 points and 12 rebounds in the contest, going 5-10 from within the arc. Nine of her boards were on the defensive end, while the also adding one block and two steals. The ten points additionally ties her season-high in scoring for the third time, matching her offensive production at Redlands on January 9 and the previous game versus Occidental on February 2.
Aiding her offensively, freshman Haley Tyrell scored a team-best 11 points, her seventh double-digit performance in the last ten games and first ten starts as a Regal. Rounding out the top scorers, sophomore Jozie Tangeman and freshman Cameron Mallory each contributed eight points apiece.
As a whole, Cal Lutheran shot just 26.8 percent (19-71) from the floor and 21.4 percent (6-28) from three-point range, their lowest field goal shooting percentage of the season. In contrast, La Verne shot 38.2 percent (26-68) from the floor and a season-high 56.3 percent (9-16) from the behind the arc.
Cal Lutheran came out of the jump on a roll, holding the lead for nearly the entire first quarter. Tangeman opened up the scoring with a three that was soon followed by points in paint from herself, Watterson and junior Abi Torres-Drozd for the early 11-5 lead halfway through the first.
However, after sophomore Kailee Yan's jump shot made it a 13-9 game with 2:42 left in the quarter, La Verne caught stride to go up 17-13 after the first ten minutes of action. They continued to strike in the second, picking up 14 unanswered points before Mallory drained a long ball to end the Regals' drought.
Mallory kept the momentum going to the end of the half, scoring all eight of her points in the second quarter alone and holding Cal Lutheran within a one-possession game until the final five minutes of the period. But again, La Verne went on a 13-2 scoring run to head into the locker room up 36-23.
Aiming to find their rhythm, the Regals entered the back half of the contest with 16 points in the third quarter, their highest scoring period of the night. Tyrell led the way with seven of her 11 points on the day, going a perfect 1-1 in three-point attempts and 4-4 at the free throw line.
Unfortunately, the damage had been done and the Regals struggled to climb out of their early deficit. Picking up just 10 points in the final ten minutes, Cal Lutheran fell to La Verne by a final score of 69-49.
The loss moves the Regals to 9-13 overall and 6-7 in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. After Wednesday night's results, Cal Lutheran currently sits in a three-way tie for fourth place with La Verne and Redlands with three games left to play.
Hoping to keep their playoff hopes alive, the team heads to Claremont, California, on Saturday February 9 to take on the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens at 5 p.m. PST.
Box Score: LV 69, CLU 49
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Release by Christy Effendie, Assistant Sports Information Director
