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Los Angeles, CA— The Oxy women's basketball team played a hard-fought game against the Cal Lutheran Regals on Wednesday night. 

Cal Lu got off to a quick start in the game by taking a 10-5 lead early on but Oxy would battle back with outstanding offensive play from Toni Thompson and strong defense. To close out the quarter, Thompson made back to back baskets to get Oxy within two points of the Regals, but Cal Lut responded with a made basket and the score was 18-14 Regals after 1 quarter. 

The 2nd quarter started with a nice 3-pointer from Dara Tokeshi to get Oxy within 1 point. The Tigers tied the game at 20 shortly after with a made layup from Michelle Lagunas-Monroy before taking the lead on a Thompson made layup shortly after. The Regals were quick to respond all game but Thompson seemed to always also have an immediate response.

Thompson made two 3-pointers on Oxy's next two possessions and the Tigers would lead 28-24. Cal Lu responded with a run of their own to take the lead back but Ainsley Shelsta would get in on the scoring for the Tigers with two made layups including a 3-point play that tied the game at 35. Paige Yasukochi would hit a big 3-pointer to close out the half and give Oxy a 38-35 lead heading into halftime. 

Thompson and Shelsta came out in the 2nd half ready to score and quickly combined to score 7 Oxy points that was capped off with a Thompson made three to give the Tigers a 5 point lead. Lagunas-Monroy would convert a nice 3-point play to get the lead up to 6 shortly after.

A made jumper by Toni Thompson had Oxy up 7 points with 5 minutes left in the 3rd quarter but Cal Lutheran kept responding with made baskets and never let the Tiger lead get out of hand. After a Regals 3-pointer and 3-point play the Oxy lead was quickly cut down to 1.

Oxy responded with Shelsta earning free throws and knocking them down, and after Paige Yasukochi made a layup and Shelsta went 1 for 2 at the line the Tigers were up by 7 again. Cal Lu would again respond with the next 4 points and the score would be 59-56 heading into the final quarter. 

The Regals also scored the first 4 points of the 4th quarter and were quickly up by 1 point before Dara Tokeshi would stop the run with a made 3-pointer. The teams continued to trade baskets and the Oxy lead would remain small for most of the quarter before Cal Lu tied the game with a free throw. 

When the game was tied at 67 Toni Thompson stepped up to the line and made both free throws before making a jumper on the next Oxy possession as well. Cal Llu responded with two made free throws but Thompson continued to take over and made a layup on the next possession and a 3-pointer on the following possession to give Oxy a 7 point lead with 3:51 left in the game. 

The Regals cut that lead down quickly and the score was 81-78 before Cal Lu scored again and it was a 1 point game with 1:20 left to play. Cal Lu had the chance to take the lead at the line but missed one so the game was tied at 81. 

Toni Thompson would draw a foul on the next play and step up to the line calm and collected and knock down both free throws to give Oxy the 83-81 lead with 31 seconds left in the game.An Oxy foul on the next play sent Cal Lu to the line but after missing the first, a lane violation wiped off the second free throw. 

The Regals were forced to foul and Paige Yasukochi would knock down both free throws to secure a 85-81 win for the Tigers. Toni Thompson was unstoppable in this game, scoring 42 points while making all 6 3-point attempts and also grabbing 9 boards. 

Ainsley Shelsta had a double double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Dara Tokeshi was 3-7 from 3-point range and Dominique Cabading led the Tigers with 5 assists. With the win Oxy improves to 3-1 in SCIAC play and 10-1 overall. 

The next Tiger game will be Saturday, January 6th at La Verne @4pm PST.