Regals Basketball

The California Lutheran University Regals basketball team looked to pull out an upset on Dec. 5 as it took on No. 17 ranked George Fox at home.

“We didn’t let their title of being the 17^th best team in the nation discourage us. We all came into this game very prepared, and had worked hard the past couple of days,” junior guard Chelsea Jacoby said.

The Regals trailed by just three points late in the second half after two made free throws by sophomore guard Sofia Cruz. However Cal Lutheran was not able to battle back from the deficit, losing 63-52. George Fox remains undefeated with this win improving their record to 6-0.

The Regals fell behind early in the first half, but climbed back into the game. Trailing 14-8, sophomore guard Trianna Owen knocked down the only 3-pointer for the Regals. The long distance shot ignited a Regals rally, bringing the score to 22-19 with seven minutes left in the first half.

The Regals would trail at the end of the first half 35-29. Leading the way for the Regals in the first half offensively were Jacoby with 12 points and sophomore guard Jessica Salottolo with six points. Owen also contributed with three assists in the first half.

“In the beginning is was kind of slow. We wanted to push the ball if we could and if not we wanted to settle ourselves and get a good shot. I thought that we made some poor decisions in the beginning of the game that put us in a little bit of a hole,” head coach Lindsay Goldblatt said.

The Regals came out in the second half looking to close the deficit.

“[In the] second half the goal was to just take it to them and to continue to out rebound them and let them know we were not giving up which I can honestly say we never did,” Jacoby said.

After sophomore forward Haley Hodgson’s jump shot the Regals pulled within six points two minutes into the closely played second half. After a pair of made free throws by Cruz the Regals would cut the George Fox lead to 51-49 with just four minutes left in the second half.

“With three minutes left, we brought it within two points. After that George Fox made a few good offensive plays that converted into baskets. We were not able to convert as many baskets as they did,” Cruz said.

George Fox benefited from a late timeout and went on a 12-3 run to close the game, with the final score being 63-52.

“I thought we played really hard, and that’s what kept in the game and gave us a chance. That was an extremely talented team. We actually put ourselves in a position to win, and I’m very pleased with our effort tonight,” Goldblatt said.

Jacoby would lead the Regals finishing with 15 points and nine rebounds. Cruz finished the game with eight points and four rebounds.

“I think our tough preseason schedule will help us down the line this season because we are being tested both mentally and physically early on this year. When SCIAC comes around we will be able to look back on these games and use them to better our game,” Cruz said.

Chris Whitmer

Staff Writer

Published December 10, 2014