Mihalko Hits Milestone in Big Win

Monday, January 30

Riverside, Calif.

5:00 PM

California Baptist University

22-2, 13-0PWC

Hawaii-Hilo

5-10, 5-7PWC

UHH_WBB

California Baptist

Photo by: Jacob Gonzalez

Mihalko Hits Milestone in Big Win

1/30/2017 8:49:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Andrew Shortall, Asst. Sports Information Director

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – History was being chased in multiple ways by California Baptist University in Monday night's PacWest game with Hawai'i-Hilo.

The eighth-ranked Lancers in NCAA Division II not only kept their lengthy winning streak alive in an 81-55 win over the Vulcans, but also saw Cassidy Mihalko reach and surpass the 2,000-career point threshold. The senior guard came into the game needing 16 points and had it 34 seconds into the second half.

Even if she wanted to ignore the limelight, Mihalko's teammates weren't going to let her.

"Kamille Diaz was reminding me throughout the game, so I knew I had it," Mihalko said of her fellow senior and point guard.

Mihalko ended up with 25 points on 8-for-15 shooting (9-for-10 from the free-throw line) and finished off a double-double with 12 rebounds, three steals and two assists. Those 2,000 points are an achievement Mihalko could never have predicted for herself.

"When I was a freshman, my main focus was just to get good minutes, I never thought this was possible, making history and setting records, it's been fun," Mihalko said.

The achievement, for one, spoke to Mihalko's maturation and consistency all four years at CBU.

"If you looked at her first six or seven games as a freshman, you would not even recognize her today," Coach Jarrod Olson said. "She's just changed so much as both a person and as a player. It's been a lot of fun to watch her grow and I am very thankful I've been able to coach her."

CBU kept inching closer to more history, as the team won its 19^th-straight game and 31^st-consecutive in the Van Dyne Gym. Overall, the Lancers sit at 22-2, 13-0 in the PacWest, while UHH drops to 5-10, 5-7. Hawai'i Pacific visits next on Thursday at 4 p.m.

The Lancers are two wins away from matching their program-best winning streak of 21 games set last season, while the home streak is a record that keeps on growing. In fact, CBU's last home loss was to the Vulcans in a 77-73 game back on Feb. 12^th, 2015.

"We definitely reminded everyone of that tonight," Olson said. "We've had some close calls in this streak, but we've had some really good players the last couple of years. Playing in Van Dyne is always nice because you get a good crowd and it's a good environment for basketball. The girls really enjoy playing here, and it just shows how good of a team we've had over the past couple of years."

Teamwork played a big part in all of the success on Monday, as CBU assisted on more than half of its 27 field goals, with 14. Diaz spearheaded the movement with six dimes and 12 points. Emma Meriggioli logged 14 points, six rebounds and three steals, and Tori Mitchell added 11 points, five rebounds and three blocks.

CBU jumped out in front quickly when a 12-0 run put it up 14-5 just five minutes into the contest, with Mihalko netting half those points. The Lancers closed the first quarter on a 9-2 run to up their cushion to seven, 29-12, heading into the second quarter. Diaz had a hand in all nine of those points, with six points and an assist on a Courtney Nelson three.

In quarter two, the Lancers pushed their advantage as high as 24, 44-20, on a Meriggioli triple with 3:18 remaining in the first half. CBU went into the break with a 47-28 lead and scored the first eight points of the second half to go up by 27, 55-28.

Even with all the pageantry, there was never any letup from CBU. It grabbed its biggest lead of the night, 74-42, on two Mitchell free throws with seven minutes to play.

Once the final buzzer sounded, the Lancers let down their guard to celebrate with Mihalko, who is the third Lancer to join the elite 2,000 club and the first to join since Nicole Davis in 2009. The Franklin, Wisc., native needs just 82 more points to surpass Davis for second place on CBU's all-time scoring list, while Sonja Akkerman, who graduated in 1991, owns the career point's record at 2,373.

Without question, Mihalko and the Lancers have both enjoyed meteoric rises together. The senior has certainly benefited from playing with numerously talented teammates, especially fellow senior leaders Diaz and Nelson, Olivia Weber and Erin Asher.

This group of five seniors have pushed each other to successes theat were unimaginable four years ago, including Mihalko's 2,000 points; the team's unranked, Cinderella run to the 2015 Division II Championship game; and now perennial top-10 powerhouse status in Division II.

"It's pretty rewarding, I feel like I just had hit 1,000 points last year, so it's kind of a surprise to me everyone was telling me it could be tonight," Mihalko said. "I'm just thankful for my teammates feeding me the ball and for everything the coaches have done for me."