HEART OF GOLD
GLENDORA, Calif. ? If California Baptist has plans to make it to the 2008 NAIA National Tournament, it's going to take a total team effort. The Lancers got that total team effort with five different players in double figures in a 73-62 upset over No. 9 Azusa Pacific at Citrus College.
“Everyone contributed tonight,” said CBU head coach Danelle Bishop. “It's beyond words of what happened tonight. We've always played with heart, but we've never played this hard with this much heart. I am just shocked with how much heart we actually played with tonight.”
Jeanine Deno scored a team-high 16 points to help lift the Lancers (17-11) to their first post season win since 1995. That was also the only other win in the GSAC Tournament.
Nicole Wilhite was 5-of-10 from the field scoring 13 points while Brenna Hahn had 12. Bryana Williams recorded her sixth double-double of the season by scoring 12 points and grabbing 13 boards. Romeka Randolph also scored 11. Bradford was just one point away from double figures with nine as all of her points came from beyond the arc with three treys.
The Lancers were hot from outside hitting almost 50 percent (9-for-19). CBU got out rebounded 42-50 and didn't hit a field goal the final 3:16, but turned the ball over just 10 times.
CBU trailed just once in the entire game and that was at 2-0. A Megan Bradford three put CBU on the board and the Lancers were off and running.
After CBU climbed out to a 49-33 half-time lead with an 8-0 run, on threes by Deno and Bradford and a Williams layup, the Lancers took their biggest lead of the game at 52-33. The Cougars then used an 18-1 run to cut the lead to 53-51 with nine minutes left.
That's when CBU turned it up a notch.
When most teams would have folded, the Lancers went on a 15-2 run to take a 68-53 lead with 4:31 left and controlled the contest from there. Williams scored eight points in that stretch.
“They (APU) made a great run at us late, but we had so much confidence and it showed by the way we played” said Bishop. “We just believed that we could do it and never let doubt take over. It was a great environment to be in and we look forward to the same environment over at Vanguard.”
California Baptist will now travel to Costa Mesa, Calif., Friday, to take on No. 4 Vanguard in the GSAC Tournament Semifinals at 7:30 p.m. The Lancers have lost 26 straight to the Lions and have never won a second round GSAC game.
