CLU Women Look Up After Down Year

Tim La Kose, the first-year women’s basketball Coach at Cal Lutheran, refrains from talking about specifics when asked about the Regals’ goals for the upcoming season.

Yet it’s obvious from the way he talks that a failure to improve on last season’s 8-17 campaign and sixth-place finish (3-9) in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference will be a major disappointment.

“Expectations are high,” said La Kose, 24. “You can definitely say that. We haven’t made a goal based on a specific record for the season. We’re focusing on playing each game to the best of our potential and being competitive in each game as it comes.”

Sophomore guard Nicole Albert (5-feet-4) and senior forward Kristin Wegner (5-8) are returning starters from last year’s team.

Albert averaged 14.3 points and 3.2 assists a game last season, with Wegner contributing 5.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists.

Point guard Diana Cortez (5-3), forward Darcy White (5-8) and center Kelli McCaskill (6-0) will round the starting five for Cal Lutheran, which lost its opener, 81-80, to Biola on Tuesday.

Cortez is a transfer from Moorpark and McCaskill transferred from Canyons, while sophomore White was a reserve for the Regals as a freshman.

Freshman center Evi Orologas (6-0), junior guard Chris Lobitz (5-5) and sophomore forwards Amy De La Pena (5-10) and Gretchen Swett (5-9) should give Cal Lutheran depth.

“Based on what I saw (against Biola), we’re going to play real good pressure defense this year,” La Kose said. “We like to run the ball and we shoot the ball real well. Our rebounding could be a weakness right now. We got beat pretty bad on the boards (against Biola).”

Albert and McCaskill give the Regals an inside-out scoring punch.

Albert scored 25 points against Biola, making seven of nine three-point shots. McCaskill added 19 points, making nine of 11 shots.