SAN DIEGO, Calif. – A one-loss Brigham Young team got all it could handle from California Baptist University Saturday night at the San Diego State Thanksgiving Classic.
The Lancers' duo of
Ane Olaeta and
Lexy Ram proved a lot to handle, as they combined for 39 points, but the Cougars just managed to pull out a 76-69 win with a late fourth-quarter run.
Olaeta matched her career-high of 24 points in the game on 9-for-21 shooting from the field and 6-11 from three. The sophomore point guard added seven assists, while Ram had a season-high 15 points on 4-5 shooting from deep.
Both Olaeta and Ram led CBU's hot shooting from deep. The Lancers shot 44.8 percent from three-point range on the night (13-29), with those 13 being a season high and just outside the top 10 in CBU's NCAA era single-game record books.
Britney Thomas logged her fifth double-double of the season, as well, with 13 rebounds, 10 points, two assists and two blocks. She was named to the SDSU Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament Team after she averaged 19 points and 13 rebounds on the week. BYU improves to 5-1 on the year against CBU (1-5).
The Lancers play another back-to-back next week, starting with a road game at CSUN on Wednesday at noon and 6 p.m. home game with cross-town opponent La Sierra on Thursday at 6 p.m.
CBU held a 20-13 lead at the end of the first quarter on Saturday night after ending the final five-and-a-half minutes on a 16-7 run. The Lancers hit four three-pointers over that span, with Ram scoring eight points, while Olaeta and
Georgia Dale (six points, two assists) also hit treys.
BYU jumped ahead in the second quarter to lead 36-33 at halftime. The Lancers started the second half on a 20-10 run to move back in front, 53-46, about halfway through the third quarter.
There were five three-pointers within that run, with Olaeta scoring eight points, while Ram,
Tiena Afu and
Emma Meriggioli also connected on long-range shots in that span. Thomas also added an old-fashioned three-point play.
It gave CBU a 58-55 lead going into the fourth quarter. The Lancers pushed their lead to 66-56 with 5:23 left in regulation, thanks to five more points from Olaeta and a three from Ram. The Cougars closed out the game strong from there to secure the seven-point win.