CLU Sports

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - The California Lutheran University women's basketball team got behind early and was never able to regain the lead in a 69-57 loss to Whitworth (WA) University on Wednesday afternoon in Gilbert Arena. The Regals were unable to overcome 10 three pointers from the Pirates, including eight in the first half.

Cal Lutheran (1-1) trailed by eight midway through the first half and battled back to tie the game after a layup by junior Kelsey Paopao and a pair of three pointers by sophomore Kourtney Jones. Jones' second three tied the game at 16-16 at the 11 minute mark but would be the closest the Regals would get to leading.

The Pirates built their lead to nine points at the half thanks in large part to the eight three pointers. Despite shooting 52 percent from the field (13-for-25) in the first half, CLU found itself down at the midway point.

In the second stanza, CLU shot just 27.3 percent (9-for-33) and was never able to cut its deficit to less than nine points.

A late run by the Regals in the final five minutes cut the lead from 20 to 12 but was not enough.

Jones led the Regals with 15 points on 5-for-13 shooting including 3-for-6 on three point shots. Junior Nita Sims chipped in with 11 points and eight rebounds. Paopao added nine points, four rebounds and three assists in 20 minutes of play.

Before fouling out with four minutes to play, CLU freshman Shana Moore collected 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.

Whitworth (2-2) was in its first game against an NCAA Division III opponent after going 1-2 against three Hawaii teams that are all Division II. The Pirates were voted to win the Northwest Conference (NWC) in the preseason poll.

The Pirates were led by junior Natalie Orrell, who had a game-high 17 points and shot 5-for-6 from three-point range. Sophomore Liz Horiatis had 14 points and juniors Leah Pomante and Cassie Pilkinton each added 13.

Cal Lutheran will open up play in the Posada Royale Classic on Nov. 29 at 3 p.m. when they host Chapman University. On Nov. 30 they will host Northland (WI) College at 5 p.m. Both of this weekends games will be available live on the internet by visiting www.kadytv.com.

Box Score: Whitworth (WA) 69, Cal Lutheran 57 F