written by Jalen Kang

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Alline Ballard, Aliya DiMuro, Janna Holley, and Sara Mills all scored double-figures as Cal Lutheran women's basketball cruised past The College of New Jersey 77-45 on Friday afternoon. In the two teams' first-ever matchup, the Regals (5-3) dominated the red-hot Lions (8-3), who entered the game on a six-game winning streak, including a recent victory over SCIAC opponent Chapman. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Regals opened the game on an 11-2 run, grabbing five offensive rebounds and holding the Lions to 0-7 shooting during that stretch. Ballard set the tone early, scoring the team's first four points. Mills intercepted a pass for a fast-break layup, Kaiya Mack finished a tough and-one, and DiMuro tipped in a second-chance layup to cap off a dominant opening surge. Ballard finished the quarter strong, sinking a turnaround jumper at the buzzer to give the Regals a 16-8 lead.

Both teams traded momentum in the second quarter. The Regals extended their lead to as many as 13 points early in the frame, but the Lions answered with three consecutive three-pointers, trimming their deficit to 23-19. The Lions lived by the three in the first half, as 21 of their 26 field goal attempts came from beyond the arc. 

The Regals finished strong over the last five minutes of the half, embarking on an 11-5 run to enter the break with a 10-point lead, 34-24.  

The Lions kicked off the second-half scoring with a three, but it was all Regals from then on. Over the next six minutes, the Regals put together an absurd 20-2 run, shooting 8-for-10 from the field while holding the Lions to just 1-for-6. They forced three turnovers and dominated the boards, winning the rebound battle 6-1. 

At the end of the third, the Regals owned a commanding 56-31 lead, which they comfortably protected the rest of the way to secure their second-straight victory. 

THE NUMBERS
- Ballard: 15 PTS, 9 REB, 5-8 FG
- DiMuro: 13 PTS, 12 REB, 6-9 FG
- Holley: 12 PTS, 6 REB, 7 AST, 3 STL
- Mills: 11 PTS, 2 AST, 2 STL
- Team shot 46.2% (30-65) FG, the highest FG% in a game this season
- 32-point margin of victory was the largest of the season

FROM SENIOR ALIYA DIMURO
On the Regals' defensive performance: "We've been working on our defense a lot, especially coming off of two SCIAC losses. It's been the key during all of our practices and I think we've really grown into a defensive team and we're just going to get better. It felt good today… united and energetic." 

FROM HEAD COACH KELLI DIMURO
On the game plan entering today: "We just wanted to make sure we didn't help off too much, but that we were in help position the entire time because we knew they were a threat from the outside. But I thought we played team defense today, which was really good." 

UP NEXT
The Regals will take on SUNY New Paltz in Las Vegas, Nevada in game one of the 14th annual D3hoops.com Classic on Saturday, Dec. 28 at 2 p.m.