Thousand Oaks, Calif. – Regals basketball hosted UC Santa Cruz for a non-conference match. Though the Regals had the lead for the entirety of the first half, the Banana Slugs stellar offense in the second half allowed them to take home the 70-64 win.

The Purple and Gold had a strong first quarter against Santa Cruz. For the first five minutes they held the Banana Slugs to only one basket made while they went on a nine-point run. Santa Cruz fought back but still trailed at the end of the first quarter 17-14.

The second quarter continued to go in favor of the Regals. They outshot the Banana Slugs 22-16 and entered the half with the lead of 39-30.

Santa Cruz quickly came back in the third quarter and cut their nine-point deficit down to three in their first few possessions. They turned their shooting game on in the second half and were draining back-to-back three pointers. The Regals weren't able to keep up and were outscored 15-22 in the third quarter.

The final 10 minutes went back and forth. The Regals weren't able to convert on every possession but they started to gain momentum. Unfortunately for the Purple and Gold it wasn't enough as Santa Cruz couldn't be stopped on offense. The Regals were outscored 18-10 in the final quarter and ended the game only six points behind the Banana Slugs.

Cameron Mallory had a great shooting day. She led the team with 18 points of her own. She grabbed three rebounds and added one assist.

Right behind her with 15 points was Karina McMillan. She had an additional seven rebounds and two assists.

The third Regal in double-digit scoring was Aliya DiMuro. She contributed with another two defensive rebounds and one block.

Sara Mills got in the mix with seven points, 11 rebounds, one assist, and one steal. She was on the court for 36 minutes and helped run the Regals offense.

Grace Godines added seven points herself and another five rebounds.

Three other Regals got on the board to contribute to their 64 points. The Regals travel to La Verne on Wednesday to return to conference play at 7 pm.

Box Score: CLU 64, UCSC 70
CLU Instagram: @clusports
Sport IG: @callutheranwbb
CLU Twitter: @CLUSports
Sport Twitter: @CLUwBasketball
CLU Facebook: @clusports
Hashtags: #clusports #ownthethrone #goregals #gokingsmen #theSCIAC #ncaad3

Release by Cate Boller, Assistant Sports Information Director