RIVERSIDE, Calif. – A historic defensive performance powered California Baptist University to an 80-35 win over Biola on homecoming weekend Saturday.

It was the lowest-point total the Lancers have allowed in the NCAA era (2014-18), with the previous low of 41 coming when they hosted Chaminade in the Van Dyne Gym on Feb. 13, 2014.

"That's really amazing, coach did say this was one of the best games of defense he can remember. It feels good after working so hard in practice to get results and know you broke a record," Emma Meriggioli said.

"It's pretty high up there," said senior Emily Schmidt when asked where she'd rank that team defensive performance out of all the games she's played in her four years. "I can't really think of a game where we've played better defense in my time here."

CBU improved to 12-11, 9-6 in the PacWest and dropped Biola to 11-11, 8-8. The Lancers are tied for fourth place in the conference and will host Hawaii Hilo Tuesday – making up a game that was rained out in Hawaii – and then will play Chaminade on Senior Day Thursday, with both games starting at 5 p.m.

"We have certainly been playing better, even before we started winning you could see some sparks," Coach Jarrod Olson said. "It's nice to see them put it all together now. The girls are playing with good unity and I think that's made a real difference. The commitment level has really been elevated and I think that shows on the court."  

Beyond defense, CBU's rebounding and ball movement kept things looking easy for the team during its current four-game win streak. The Lancers assisted on 20 of their 30 field goals to shoot 42.3 percent from the field (30-for-71) and 43.3 from three (13-30), all while holding Biola to 19-percent from the field (12-63) and 13 from three (3-23).

"We played really good on D, it's probably one of the best games we've had defensively since I've been here at CBU," Olson said. "We just moved across the perimeter really well and did a good job on the scout. We did a really good job on the glass, too, not giving up second opportunities. It was just a really good team effort and really fun to watch."

Meriggioli secured a double-double in CBU's win, with 13 points on four three-pointers and 11 rebounds. Georgia Dale scored a team-high 16 points and added six assists and two steals. Blaysen Varnadoe nearly eclipsed a double-double, as well, with 14 points, nine rebounds, four assists, a block and steal, while Tori Mitchell contributed 10 points, six rebounds and two blocks.

Both offenses struggled to find a rhythm in the first half, but a 10-0 run gave the Lancers the first significant advantage of the game, 19-8, about three minutes into the second quarter. Dale scored eight of CBU's first 19 points, while Mitchell added six and Varnadoe had five.

"We just really came out and tried to take it one play, one stop at a time," Schmidt said. "The ball wasn't really falling for us early, so we knew if we kept working on D and getting stops, it would pay off for us and it paid off pretty well."

Biola struggled to ever make it interesting after that. The Eagles hit three-straight free throws to cut within 19-11, but the Lancers scored 28 of the next 36 points to secure a commanding 45-19 lead about halfway through the third quarter.

Dale scored eight points, while Meriggioli added two threes in that 28-8 run. Biola scored five of the next seven points, but quickly saw the Lancers take off on another 20-5 run that gave them a 67-29 lead with 7:35 to play. Varnadoe scored nine points in that run, while Meriggioli knocked down two more shots from deep to put CBU well on the way to victory.
 

W??| That's a historic 80-35 win for @cbuWBB, as it's the fewest points the Lancers have allowed in the @NCAA era (2014-18). #LanceUp pic.twitter.com/HsJOTXHs3S

— CBU Lancers (@cbulancers) February 11, 2018

Schmidt's post-game thoughts (check out CBU Lancers on Facebook to hear more from Meriggioli and Olson):