Kourtney Brumfield

Sophomore Lindsay Shiomi dribbles to the basket, loosely defended by Cal Lutheran’s Tiffany Shim last Saturday. The Cal Lutheran Regals defeated the Leopards, 74 - 66.

Kevin Davies
Staff Writer

The University of La Verne women’s basketball team (8-12) came out firing on all cylinders Saturday night in its home opener at the newly renovated Frantz Athletic Center against the highly touted and conference leading Cal Lutheran Regals (16-5).

The Leopards were inspired by the stellar play of senior star Stephanie Foster and the support of a rowdy student body cheering for an upset, but ultimately fell victim to the Regals, 74-66.

The Leopard’s raced to an early 10 point lead and maintained it throughout the first half.

The Leopard’s first half success was a credit to sharp shooting and the containment of Lauren Stroot, Cal Lutheran’s all-time leading scorer and the conference leader at 22.2 points per game.

A poor second half plagued the Leopards for the second time this week, as their plan of avenging an emotional early season loss slipped away in the opening minutes of the half.

The Regals came out of the locker room possessed in the second half, outscoring La Verne, 23-6, early on en route to a 74-66 come-from-behind victory that was set in motion by high pressure defense and the emergence of Stroot, who finished with a team high 16 points.

ULV head coach Julie Kline was the first to point out the talents of Stroot after her team’s tough loss.

“She is an outstanding player and stopping her was definitely a large part of our game plan,” Kline said. “I’m very proud of our efforts on her in the first half, but we need to be able to play 40 minutes of basketball to compete with a team the caliber of Cal Lutheran.”

There were still many bright moments for the Leopards in the loss, including Foster’s 28-point, 10-rebound performance that was highlighted by accurate perimeter jump shots and highlight reel moves to the basket on what can easily be categorized as a career night for the star playing in her final home opener.

“I wanted to go out with a bang and get a win seeing as how this is the first game I’ve gotten to play at home in my final season,” Foster said. “We got the jitters out and if we play hard, we’ll close out the season with a winning record.”

The Leopards were also paced by the stellar play of three talented sophomore guards – Lindsay Shiomi with 11 points, Erica Williams with seven points, Marissa Raya with seven points and six rebounds – as well as the clutch play of a steadily improving freshman in Trenecca Jones, who finished with seven points and five rebounds in the contest.
The future of women’s hoops at ULV looks bright with four potential stars waiting in the wings for their opportunity to shine.

“Cal Lutheran is definitely beatable,” said Jones. “We have already proven that twice this season and I look forward to that challenge in the future.”
On Monday La Verne traveled to Life Pacific where they triumphed 82-33.
ULV will return to home action Thursday at 7:30 p.m. against Pomona-Pitzer at the Frantz Athletic Center.

Kevin Davies can be reached at kdavies@ulv.edu.