Three-for-Three

Friday, March 4

Irvine, Calif.

2:45 PM

California Baptist University

28-1

Academy of Art

24-8

Academy of Art

Cal Baptist

Photo by: Jacob Gonzalez

3/4/2016 5:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Sammi Sheppard, Director of Sports Information

IRVINE, Calif. — After securing a first-round bye in the PacWest Tournament and the regular-season conference title, No. 3-ranked California Baptist University came out Friday afternoon looking to get a chance at the tournament crown. The Lancers dominated the glass (61-37) to defeat Academy of Art 90-80.

"I was really proud of how the team played," said Coach Jarrod Olson. "We fought pretty hard, made some good plays at the right time and got a win against a good team."

With the win, CBU improves to 28-1 on the year and extends its program-best win streak to 21-straight games. The Urban Knights fall to 24-8 on the year.

Kamille Diaz (10-for-16) was unstoppable from three-point range, hitting nine triples to not only set a new PacWest Tournament women's game record, but tie the overall tournament record on the men's side. It also finally broke a single-game CBU record, after Diaz had tied it on multiple occasions throughout her career. She finished the game with 29 points, just one shy of her career high, and also dished out seven assists.

"I was just feeling it, I guess," said Diaz. "I shot the ball when I was open and luckily they were falling for me today. The ball movement was awesome. We let the ball find the shooter and I just knocked it down when I could."

Megan Frerer followed with a career-high 19 points (5-for-7) and grabbed 13 rebounds for the double-double. Courtney Nelson also posted a double-double on the night with 11 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Emma Meriggioli rounded out the Lancers scoring in double figures with 10 points (4-for-8).

"I felt the confidence my team had in me to make the play," said Frerer. "They passed it to me, knowing I'd be able to make the finish and I fed off that confidence."

CBU exploded out of the gates, scoring five points in the first 30 seconds of the contest. Diaz sank a deep three to get the scoring going, before Nelson drove to the basket to make it 5-0 Lancers.

"It was awesome to start off with a three, it's what gets me going," said Diaz. "It's always better to start with a make than a miss. You get more confidence that way."

Academy of Art answered with a 9-0 run to jump in front, but Diaz started to heat up from the perimeter as she sank back-to-back three-pointers to put the Lancers back in front 22-15 just before the first quarter expired. The Urban Knights scored a basket in the final minute of the period, but Diaz hit her fourth triple of the game to give CBU a 25-17 after the first 10 minutes.

Things started to shift in the second quarter, however, as ART U cut the margin to just one point, 28-27, but Meriggioli caught the three-point bug and sank her shot from the corner to keep her team in front by two possessions.

Still, the Urban Knights stayed with the Lancers and walked into halftime only trailing by one, 37-36.

Like they did in the first quarter, the Lancers came out fired up in the third and opened on a 5-0 run. Frerer started the run with a layup under the basket and Diaz knocked down yet another three to put CBU up 42-36.

The Lancers started to pull away halfway through the third quarter, but once again the Urban Knights chipped at the margin to bring it within reach. ART U came within four, 60-56, but Nelson hit two free throws and Frerer added another four to push their team up to a 10-point lead, 66-56.

ART U managed to bring the score within one, 70-69, forcing Olson to call a timeout. The Lancers came out of the break determined to stay in front as Olivia Weber banked in a shot and Erin Asher drove to the basket to put CBU in front 74-69. The Urban Knights sank a three, much to the dismay of the Lancer fans, but Cassidy Mihalko — who had been kept quiet for the first time this season — drained a three to keep a two-possession cushion between the two teams.

Once again, CBU started to make a move to extend its cushion heading into the final three minutes of the game. Nelson drew a foul to put her team back in front by double-digits with two free throws, but ART U responded with two points of its own. The Urban Knights kept fighting to stay in it.

With a minute left, the Urban Knights came within six, but a Mihalko basket all but secured the 90-80 victory to send the Lancers into the PacWest championship game. It marks the third year in a row CBU has made it to the tournament finale, but the Lancers have yet to take the crown.

"Obviously it's better to be playing in the [championship] game and losing it than not playing in it at all," said Olson. "We're thankful just to get there. A bounce here or there can determine a game so we'll show up, play the best we can play and hopefully this year the ball will bounce our direction."

CBU will have to wait to see who it faces in the finale, with No. 1 seed and No. 18-ranked Azusa Pacific and No. 5 seed Dominican University of California playing at 7:15 p.m. The Championship game is set for a 4:30 p.m. tipoff time.

"I'm really excited," said Frerer. "We have a good thing going as a team and we just need to keep going."

"It's going to take work," added Diaz. "We've been here before, we know what it's like. Hopefully we come out and get it to bounce our way."