Box Score OAKLAND — With a win Saturday night, No. 4-ranked California Baptist University was guaranteed at least a share of its second PacWest regular-season championship. The Lancers came out determined to win the crown and beat Holy Names 69-42, also tying the program's longest unbeaten streak with their 20th-straight victory.
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"I'm just so proud of this team and how hard we have worked to get here," said
Cassidy Mihalko. "We knew at the beginning of the year that things weren't going to just be handed to us. We've faced a lot of adversity this season, but our coaches had faith in us and we kept trusting each other."
"I'm really proud of the team," echoed Coach
Jarrod Olson. "They have worked hard this season and we are looking forward to the conference tournament next week."
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CBU finishes the regular season with a 27-1 overall record, 19-1 in the PacWest. HNU's season comes to an end with an 8-20, 7-13 mark.
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Mihalko had a tremendous night, finishing with 27 points to finish the regular season as the conference's leading scorer. She also had 11 rebounds for the double-double and a block on the night.
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Courtney Nelson contributed 17 points (8-for-13), while
Emma Meriggioli (3-for-3) and
Kamille Diaz were just on the cusp of double figures with nine points each.
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Megan Frerer matched Mihalko's 11 boards to help the Lancers out-rebound the Hawks 52-34.
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After a not-so-great first quarter, the Lancers started to turn things around in the second. CBU out-scored the Hawks 18-7 to hold a 31-17 upper hand at the half. HNU opened the frame with a basket to cut the margin to just one point, 13-12, but Mihalko went off and carried the Lancer offense, scoring 14 of CBU's 18 points in the quarter.
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The junior guard scored 12-straight points to put CBU well in control of the game, 25-12. HNU cut the spree briefly, but Mihalko scored on the next play and Nelson closed the half with a jumper to put the Lancers up 31-17 at halftime.
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Coming out of the break, the Hawks managed to slice the upper hand down to 10 points, 35-25, before the Lancers went off on another big run.
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Diaz drained a deep three to start a 16-0 run to give CBU more than a 20-point cushion heading into the final 10 minutes of action. Mihalko followed with a triple of her own to keep the run going and Meriggioli also got in on the scoring spree.
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It put the Lancers in the driver's seat with a 51-27 edge heading into the final quarter.
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The Hawks tried to claw their way back into the game, but the Lancer defense wasn't about to let that happen. Mihalko all but sealed the victory by hitting a three with just under three minutes to play, putting CBU up 66-41.
Brittany Sepeda capped the scoring for the Lancers as she drew a foul and finished her free throw to give CBU the 69-42 victory.
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Now that the regular season is over, the Lancers shift their focus to postseason with the PacWest Championship Tournament next weekend in Irvine, Calif.
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Azusa Pacific grabbed a share of the title with a 64-47 win over Hawaii-Hilo Saturday. Since the two teams shared the regular-season title, the conference tournament seeding will be decided with Wednesday's regional rankings. The Lancers were the No. 4 team in the West Region in the first rankings, with the Cougars sitting in the No. 3 spot.
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"I'm proud of how well we've done this season, but there is still a lot of basketball left to be played," said Mihalko. "We are ready."
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