Leos Drop Heartbreaker To Regals
Leading by five points with under two minutes to go, the University of La Verne was on the verge of victory before the Regals reversed fortunes to outscore the Leopards 6-0 in the final 1:23 in a 61-60 final in SCIAC women's basketball action Saturday at Gilbert Arena in Thousand Oaks.
Despite several players sideline by injuries, the Leopards fought valiantly but could not close in the final minutes. CLU's Shana Moore hit a short jumper with .3 seconds to complete the come-from-behind victory as the Leopards fell to 5-16 overall and 3-7 in conference play.
The Leopards made 11 of their 15 free throw attempts but twice failed to convert front end of one-and-one opportunities in the final minute of play.
The Regals led by as many as nine points in the first half before the Leopards cut to deficit to three points as they trailed 36-33 at the break.
A three-pointer by Brittni Tapia put the Leopards up 45-44 with 15:28 remaining. A Tyne McClure layup with 3:36 left gave the Leopards a 60-55 advantage with 3:36 left but went scoreless the rest of the contest as the Regals closed out with the game's final six points.
Chelsey Hastigan nailed a three-pointer to pull the Regals within two points at 60-58 with 1:23 remaining, and Jasmyne Porter made one free throw with 17 ticks left to cut the Leopard lead to one point prior to Moore's buzzer beater.
Statistically, both teams shot under 40% (19-51) from the field, with La Verne finishing at 37.3% while CLU shot at a 36.8% clip (21-57). La Verne, the conference's top three-point shooting team, went 11-27 from beyond the arc. Both squads committed 21 turnovers with the Regals finishing with a 40-34 edge in rebounding.
Megan Musashi led all scorers with 21 points, finishing 5-10 from the field and 7-7 from the free throw line. Amanda Copas added 13 points while Tapia and Rapahelle Buenafe scored 8 points each.
Moore along with Hastigan totaled a team-high 12 points for the Regals with Erica Whitley posting 10 points.
Both teams promoted awareness and raised funds for breast cancer research by participating in "Play4Kay". The Kay Yow Cancer Fund is partnered with The V Foundation and Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)
La Verne continues league action next Thursday as it hosts Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in a 7:30 pm start at Frantz Athletic Court.
