Photo by: Tracy Maple

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Cal Lutheran outscored the Poets by 11 points in the second half and stretched its halftime lead to as many as 20 as the Thursday struggles continued for Whittier with a 72-55 loss at Gilbert Arena.

The loss marks the third straight on a Thursday evening and is only the third time the Poets have been held under 60 points this season.

The first half saw all five lead changes over the first 14 minutes of the game. The purple and gold took its last lead at the 7:39 mark on a layup by Tina Merlino. The Regals reclaimed the lead on the next possession and held to a slim 18-17 advantage before a 15-6 run gave CLU a 10-point cushion.

Whittier connected on two buckets in the final minute to pull within six, 33-27, at the intermission.

The Poets held with the top squad in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference for the first five minutes of the second half. Merlino made the score 37-31 with a layup at the 18:29 mark and Ashante Reid got WC as close as five points (40-35) at 16:42.

Cal Lutheran used an 8-0 spurt after the Reid layup to take a 48-35 lead into the final 15 minutes of the game. The Regal lead stayed in two figures for the rest of the evening.

The Poets clawed back to a 10-point deficit twice but couldn't get closer.

Back-to-back three-pointers by CLU, which includes one converted four-point play, and an old fashion three-point play put the Poets away. The lead was 64-44 with 4:38 left after Kourtney Zilbert made it 54-44 just three minutes prior.

Whittier committed 24 turnovers and surrendered 23 points off those miscues. CLU outscored the Poets in the paint 34-24 despite the fact the rebounding was even at 43.

Brittany Aranda scored a team-high 12 points while Morgan Sabala added 10. Zilbert pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds.

Whittier has won three straight Saturday evening games after a Thursday loss and will look to get back on track as it plays host to Caltech at 5 pm.