CARSON, Calif. — After a slow start, No. 13-ranked California Baptist University finished strong to take an 80-68 win over Cal State Dominguez Hills Friday afternoon in the CCAA/PacWest Challenge, hosted by the Toros.
 
The Lancers improve to 6-2 overall, while the Toros drop to 3-3 on the year.
 
Four CBU players finished in double figures, led by two with over 20 points. Cassidy Mihalko led all scorers with 23 points (8-for-19), while Tori Mitchell (8-for-15) chipped in a career-high 21 points. Courtney Nelson contributed 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting and Lexy Ram rounded out the quartet with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting.

"We all had to give it our all to make sure we pulled out this win," said Mitchell. "We had a rough start, but we had a great finish."
 
Mitchell led CBU's rebounding effort with a career-high 15 boards for her first Lancer double-double. Mihalko also finished with a double-double, grabbing 11 missed shots off the glass, including eight offensive boards. CBU out-rebounded CSUDH 52-to-37. 
 
The Lancers found themselves in an 11-3 hole to open the game, but three-straight layups from Mitchell put them back in the game, 11-9.
 
CSUDH tried to create some separation again, taking an 18-13 lead a minute into the second quarter, but Mihalko sparked an 11-0 run that gave CBU its first lead of the day. Courtney Nelson knocked down a three in that span to put the Lancers up 20-18, before Mihalko and Mitchell each drove to the basket to extend that margin to 24-18.
 
With their groove back, the Lancers walked into halftime with a 35-29 lead, hoping to break away in the second half for good.
 
The Toros wouldn't let CBU go off just yet, however, keeping the score within 12 points or less. Every time the Lancers thought they would bust open the game, CSUDH came clawing back.
 
In the final 10 minutes, the Toros cut the upper hand to seven points, 57-50, but CBU got stops on defense and took care of business on the other end of the court to go back up by double-digits, 64-50.
 
Heading down the stretch, CBU took a 13-point lead off a Mihalko layup. CSUDH managed to bring it back into single digits, 71-63, with three and a half minutes to play, but the Lancers closed out the game with a 9-5 run to seal the 80-68 victory.
 
The Lancers are back in action tomorrow afternoon, taking on Cal State L.A. at 1:00 p.m. back at the Torodome in Carson, California.