Getting It Done

Thursday, January 7

Riverside, Calif.

5:00 PM

California Baptist University

12-1, 4-1PWC

Chaminade

3-7, 3-3PWC

Chaminade

California Baptist

Photo by: Jacob Gonzalez

1/7/2016 6:40:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Sammi Sheppard, Director of Sports Information

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Less than 48 hours from finishing its last game, No. 4 California Baptist University had to defend its court against another Hawaiian team. The Lancers may have started slow, but they quickly turned things around to take an 89-70 victory over Chaminade Thursday night.

The win moves CBU to 12-1 overall, 4-1 in the PacWest, and extends its streak to five victories in a row.

Three Lancers finished the night in double figures, led by Cassidy Mihalko's 28 points (13-for-16). Kamille Diaz wasn't far behind her fellow 1,000-point club member, scoring 24 points on 7-for-12 shooting. Courtney Nelson rounded out the trio with 10 points (5-for-11), while Erin Asher was just on the cusp with nine points (4-for-8).

Chaminade opened the game with the first bucket of the night and kept pushing to take an early 7-2 lead. Shots didn't seem to fall for the Lancers, but back-to-back layups from Mihalko, including an old-fashioned three-point play, put CBU within two at 9-7.

Miscues and Chaminade's man marking kept the Lancers from getting good looks on offense, but CBU came into the second quarter looking to turn things around.

Down 26-22, Asher opened the period with a jump shot to cut the margin back to one possession. Not long after, Emma Meriggioli found fellow Wisconsin native Mihalko under the basket to even the game up at 28-28.

With under five minutes remaining before halftime, Asher gave CBU the lead, 34-33, for the first time, hitting a shot just outside the key. Looking to build on that momentum, the Lancer defense got a stop they were looking for and Diaz finished two free throws to try to distance her team from Chaminade.

Still, CBU wasn't out of danger yet as the Silverswords continued to press in their offensive half. For every Lancer basket, Chaminade was right in tow until CBU made several crucial stops on defense to hold a 49-37 cushion at halftime, finishing the quarter on a 17-4 run.

Coming out of the break, the Silverswords chipped away at the Lancers and cut the margin to just one possession, 49-44, less than two and a half minutes into the third quarter.

CBU wasn't about to roll over, however, and built back its double-digit lead, 60-50, after Asher hit a shot from the perimeter. On the other end of the court, the Lancers cut out lanes for the Silverswords to drive to the basket, forcing tough shots, and nabbed the rebounds before Chaminade could get a second look.

In the final 10 minutes, Chaminade tried to break through the Lancer zone defense, but couldn't quite seem to put runs together.

Diaz sank a three from the corner to keep CBU in front by 12. Meriggioli then stole the ball away to put the Lancers back on the attack, where Diaz made a free throw to further distance her team. Mihalko forced yet another Silversword turnover and scored on the fast break to make it 79-64 in favor of CBU.

From there, it seemed the Lancers were unstoppable. They keyed in on defense, making the visitors take tough shots and not get another look off the glass, while taking advantage of opportunities on offense. Kristine Sellona made it a 20-point game after draining a three from the left corner with less than two minutes remaining on the clock.

CBU closed out the final 90 seconds in control to walk away with the 89-70 victory.

With no rest for the weary, CBU has another quick turnaround, hosting Fresno Pacific on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. The game will be featured on ESPN 3, which can be streamed on the WatchESPN app, streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 and Xbox One, or at http://es.pn/1JV5il6.