Tiger Women's Basketball Comes Up Just Short in Overtime Thriller

LAS VEGAS, NV - In their second game of the D3hoops.com Classic, Wittenberg fell to Cal Lutheran in close game that took an overtime period to determine a winner.

The win moved Wittenberg to 8-3 on the season, while Cal Lutheran improved to 7-3. The Regals have won both of their games in Las Vegas after also defeating SUNY New Paltz on Saturday.

Wittenberg had a 46-42 lead at halftime with help from Karsen Karlblom (Crystal Lake, IL / Prairie Ridge), who scored 14 points, while Karley Moore (Tipp City, OH / Bethel) poured in 11, and Riane Burton (Houston, TX / Cypress Ranch) dropped in 10 in the first half. 

In the third quarter, Cal Lutheran came out with stifling defense, taking a lead into the fourth quarter while outscoring the Tigers, 23-15. The Tigers were able to claw back and force overtime with Jazmyn Gaines-Burns (Bladensburg, MD / Elizabeth Seton) leading the team with eight points in the fourth quarter, while the defense held Cal Luthern to their lowest scoring quarter with 17.

Overtime was back and forth until late when Burton converted a basket while being fouled and Karlblom hit a three to bring the deficit to just one before the Tigers were forced to foul. After Cal Lutheran took a 96-93 lead, the Tigers turned the ball over to essentially seal the game as two more free throws were made to make the final score 98-93.

For the Tigers, five players finished in double figures in points, with two scoring over 20. Burton led the team with a season-high 26 and Karlblom was right behind with 22 as she went 6-6 from three-point range to tie the school record for three-point field goal percentage in a game. Gaines-Burns ended up with 14 and Moore had 13, while Madi Barnett (Cincinnati, OH / Kings) added 11. Gaines-Burns led the team in rebounds with seven and Burton and Karlblom both came up with six apiece. Payton Cronen (Louisville, KY / Assumption) dished out five assists to lead the team, while Taryn Cash (Cincinnati, OH / Princeton) had four on the night. For Cal Lutheran, their leading scorer was Kaiya Mack, who dropped 39 points on 14-20 from the field, 5-7 from three and 6-7 from the free throw line. The Regals had 3 other players also finish in double figures.

The Tigers will travel to Steubenville to play their next game against Franciscan on Thursday, January 2, at 5:30 p.m.