California Baptist University
Azusa Pacific
Crushing The Cougars
3/1/2013 4:08:00 AM | Women's Basketball
It was the 10th straight win for the Lancers as they keep pace with Grand Canyon in the PacWest title race with a game to play. APU came into the night needing to win out for a chance at a conference championship, but left empty handed.
The Lancers used a blistering pace and hot hands from deep to take down their longtime rivals, hitting a season high 55.6 percent of their threes in the 76-51 win.
"We're doing a lot of things right, right now," said CBU Head Coach Jarrod Olson. "There are still some things we can work on, but we're playing well at a crucial time of the year. Every game is big when you come to the end of the season, especially for us right now."
And in a big moment the Lancers put up a big time performance Thursday.
In the span of less than five minutes to close the first half CBU turned a four-point lead into a 19-point advantage, outscoring the Cougars 17-2 to close the period.
CBU hit three 3-pointers during the finishing flurry, including a pair from Simone Holmes, who scored 13 points in the half. The Lancers hit 5 of 8 threes in the first period.
The lead would only increase as CBU's hot shooting continued.
The Lancers led by as much as 28 in the second half, draining another five threes on 10 more attempts.
CBU ended up shooting 50.9 percent from the floor to go along with the team's high rate from deep. APU conversely shot 33.3 percent from the floor and 28.6 percent from long range.
"Everybody was doing their job out there tonight," said Olson "That's the sign of a good team. When everyone knows what's expected of them and goes out and executes. We had a lot of people chipping in even with a short-handed bench."
The Lancers put four players in double figures, led by 20 points from Holmes. Amy Browne added 17, hitting 4 of 6 3-pointers on the night.
Hannah Kenny led the Cougars with 19 points and Kelly Hardeman put up 16. Kenny also led all players with 10 boards.
The win moves the Lancers to 20-5 overall, 14-3 in the PacWest and drops APU to 14-10, 11-5. It's the third straight season CBU has eclipsed the 20-win mark in a season. Prior to that CBU hadn't had more than 20 wins since 1990.
The Lancers head to Fresno Pacific Saturday to close out the regular season, looking to lock up at least a share of the conference title with a win.
