ORANGE, Calif. – Cal Lutheran traveled south to face Chapman and came away with a 76-70 victory after huge nights from Natalie Ruhl and Cameron Mallory led the Regals to their first Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) win of the season.
Ruhl was extremely effective from the free throw line, connecting on 16 of her 20 attempts. The senior went 4-9 from the field with two three-pointers to tally a career-high 26 points. Mallory notched 18 points on the night and used the three-ball to her advantage, hitting three of her four shots from beyond the arc.
Haley Tyrell was productive off the bench as she reached double figures with 10 points and also grabbed seven rebounds.
CLU struggled in the first period as the hosts would quickly get out to a eight-point lead. However, a swift 5-0 run, using a three from Karly Beyers and a driving layup from Jozie Tangeman, would cut the lead to just three before the end of the quarter.
Cal Lutheran hit their stride in the second quarter as Mackenzy Iwahashi made back-to-back baskets, including a three-pointer, to give the Regals their first lead of the game. Mallory would knock down a three to spark a 10-4 run to end the half and take a 38-31 lead heading into the break.
Chapman would not go away in the third quarter as they pulled the score back to 43-42 just before the five-minute mark. Tyrell ended the Regals' scoring drought with a tough lay-in and a jump shot to extend the lead to five points. A strong finish to the quarter would leave the Purple and Gold with a 58-50 lead heading into the final period.
Three quick baskets from the Panthers gave their team some life in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to just two points. Mallory showed her leadership with a very important basket to give the Regals some breathing room. This was the beginning of an 8-0 run to all but put away the game. Some clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch by Ruhl would close out the contest and the Regals would come away with a huge road victory.
Cal Lutheran improves to 3-6 (1-1 SCIAC) and continue conference play when they head to Redlands on Jan. 4 at 4 p.m.
Box Score: CLU 76, CU 70
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Release by Jeff Rebello, Assistant Sports Information Director
