LACEY, Wash. — With two weeks off from conference action, No. 5 California Baptist University didn't want to take any time off from competition. The Lancers headed north to take on Saint Martin's Friday night for some nonconference action and got back to their dominating ways, defeating the Saints 78-66.
 
The Lancers improve to 8-1 with the win, while SMU drops to 2-6 overall.
 
Olivia Weber had a big night for CBU, finishing with a double-double on 13 points (6-for-9) and 10 rebounds, along with two blocks. Cassidy Mihalko led the Lancers with 20 points (9-for-14), while Kamille Diaz posted 17 points (6-for-10) and dished out seven assists.
 
In the opening minutes of the game, neither team could really get a grip on the lead until CBU went on a 12-0 run to take a 21-10 lead in the first. Trailing 10-9, Megan Frerer put the Lancers back in front by driving to the basket. Mihalko kept the run going, draining a three before Nelson followed with a layup. Diaz sank a shot from the perimeter and a floater from Mihalko gave CBU the commanding 11-point lead early.
 
The Saints tried to keep the game from getting too far away from them and hit a jump shot just before the first period expired.
 
Weber kept SMU from grabbing too much momentum, however, opening the second frame with a layup off an assist from Mihalko. Less than a minute later, the pair changed roles as Weber assisted Mihalko's three-pointer to put CBU up 28-15 and force a Saints timeout.
 
CBU continued to pick apart the SMU defense and walked into halftime with a 53-27 lead.
 
Looking very much in control, the Lancers opened the third frame with a 10-3 run to hold a commanding 33-point advantage over the home team. Diaz scored the first shot of the second half, sinking a three-pointer to start the run and capped it with a layup in the paint.
 
The Lancers took their foot off the gas a little for the remaining 16 minutes of the game, but held off the Saints enough to take the 78-66 victory.
 
CBU doesn't get much time to recover, heading to Oregon for a 2:00 p.m. matchup at Western Oregon on Saturday. The Lancers return home to conclude 2015 with a PacWest contest against Point Loma next Saturday, tipping off at 5:00 p.m. in Van Dyne.