COLORADO SPRINGS â€" It wasn't easy, but the Texas Lutheran women's basketball team won its seventh straight, defeating Colorado College 78-68 and earning the right to play for a conference regular-season title next week at home.
 
The win meant the Bulldogs kept pace with Southwestern in the conference, staying just a game behind the Pirates for the top spot. The two teams will play in Seguin next Friday to close out the regular season. Tipoff for that matchup is set for 6 p.m. with live video and live stats available via tlubulldogs.com.
 
The win also improved TLU's record to 15-8 overall and 10-3 in the SCAC. It was the season finale for Colorado College, which finished with a record to 2-23 (2-12 SCAC).
 
The Bulldogs were tied 32-32 at the half, but they used 50 percent second-half shooting to close out the Tigers.
 
TLU was paced by senior Karisa Cantu (San Antonio, Texas) and her 23 points. The guard finished 6-of-9 from the field and 10-of-12 from the charity stripe, including a perfect 8-of-8 in the second half. She added three assists on the afternoon.
 
The Bulldogs continued to shoot well, as they have been throughout this seven-game winning streak. They finished the game nearly 44 percent from the field and knocked down 6-of-17 (35.3%) from behind the arc. They also got to the line plenty, making 24-of-31 from the stripe.
 
Two other Bulldogs joined Cantu in double-figure scoring. Savannah Hight (San Antonio, Texas) scored 14 points and was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field. The sophomore also knocked down 6-of-7 from the line.
 
Taylor Dydalewicz (Drippings Springs, Texas) added 13 points of her own on 5-of-14 shooting.
 
Defensively, Chelsey Stolle (Falls City, Texas) was a force on the glass and the defensive end, finishing with five points, 10 rebounds and two blocks.
 
Colorado College got out to a six point lead less than five minutes into the game, when a Courtney Tyus 3-pointer made it 14-8. Tyus finished with a game-high 21 points.
 
The Tigers continued to lead until a Dydalewicz 3-pointer gave the Bulldogs their first lead in more than 12 minutes. They would not trail the rest of the half, though their lead never grew to more than three, either. The two teams went into halftime tied 32-32.
 
The Tigers regained the lead to open the second half and the two teams traded leads for the opening five minutes of the frame. The Bulldogs fell behind 43-40 with 14:45 to play.
 
Texas Lutheran finally gained command of the game after that, rattling off 14 straight points to open up an 11-point advantage with 10:41 left. The run was keyed by senior Katie Moore (Floresville, Texas), who came off the bench and knocked down two 3-pointers to put the Bulldogs ahead by seven.
 
Colorado College would answer that TLU run by closing the gap back to just four with 6:20 left. The Tigers would get within four a number of times in the second half, but each time they threatened to get back into the game, the Bulldogs would answer.