THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Cal Lutheran women's basketball was defeated by UC Santa Cruz 57-44 on Sunday afternoon.

The Regals and Banana Slugs played a home and home series this season. UC Santa Cruz won both contests and with the loss today, the Regals dropped to 10-6.

The Regals started slow as the Banana Slugs opened the game with a 7-2 run. The Regals fought back and took an 8-7 lead later in the quarter. Cal Lutheran outscored UC Santa Cruz over the last few minutes of the quarter and had a 13-10 advantage after the first quarter.

The Banana Slugs fired back in the second quarter and began to pull away with a score of 18-13. UC Santa Cruz kept the points coming and went up 23-15. The Regals only managed four points in the second quarter as the Banana Slugs had a 28-17 lead at the half.

Cal Lutheran looked to fire back in the second. The Regals made their runs, but one was thwarted by the Banana Slugs. The teams exchanged baskets during the third quarter and UC Santa Cruz continued to hold the lead after the third quarter.

The Regals refused to give up as they opened the final quarter, cutting the lead to 42-34. Both teams traded shots over the next few minutes as UC Santa Cruz still had the advantage. The Regals tried to make a comeback, but the Banana Slugs kept them down and took the game.

The Regals had 26 points in the paint and 18 bench points, but the game was decided by turnovers. Cal Lutheran committed 24 turnovers and the Banana Slugs scored 21 points off those turnovers.

Naomi Gipson scored 11 points to lead her squad. Annie Winton and Aliya DiMuro was next with eight points each and Karina McMillan had seven. DiMuro had a team-high 10 rebounds and Winton had three steals.

The Regals' next game will be at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Box Score: UCSC 57, CLU 44
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