written by Jalen Kang

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Trailing by six points at the start of the fourth quarter, Cal Lutheran women's basketball closed out the game on a 19-9 run to beat UC Santa Cruz 60-56 on Friday evening. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Tonight's leading scorer for the Regals (2-0) Aliya DiMuro kicked off the contest with back-to-back buckets. After the first quarter, the score was knotted at 14-14. The Regals embarked on a 10-4 run through the 5:18 mark of the second quarter to put them up six, their biggest lead of the game. The Banana Slugs (1-5) answered with two three-pointers, making it 29-27 Regals going into the half as neither team could find separation. 

It was all Banana Slugs in the third, as they outscored the Regals 20-12 in the quarter on 53.85% (7-13) shooting. Trailing by six at the beginning of the fourth, DiMuro caught fire for the Regals, scoring nine straight points, including an emphatic and-one, to give the Regals back the lead. 

The Banana Slugs drilled a three-pointer and turned an offensive rebound into a bucket to go up 54-50 with 5:47 remaining, but the Regals pushed the pace to win the final stretch. Kaiya Mack got a tough bucket to fall with 2:19 remaining to give the Regals a one-point lead, which they would protect the rest of the way. The defense then got a huge stop with under 30 seconds to go, and Janna Holley converted both free throws to ice the game. 

THE NUMBERS
-  DiMuro: 15 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block
-  Alline Ballard: 9 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
-  Holley: 8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 steals

FROM HEAD COACH KELLI DIMURO
"I saw great effort from my team tonight," said DiMuro. "We settled in a little bit better, our press looked good, we got a few steals and that really helped us. We did a great job of closing the game out." 

FROM SENIOR ALIYA DIMURO
"At the end, I feel like we really pulled it together as a team and that's something we've been working on in practice and  off the court too," said DiMuro. "Just having that chemistry to pull it together at the very end. We had a great year last year and we only lost one girl who we miss very much, but we got some new players. We're gonna be great. We have a great bond. We all just love each other and it shows on the court, and we're learning each other every day so by the end of the season we'll be unstoppable."

UP NEXT
The Regals take on Whitman College on day one of the annual UC Santa Cruz Thanksgiving Tournament next Saturday, Nov. 30 at 1 p.m.