California Baptist University
14-11, 11-6PWC
Chaminade
2-17, 2-15PWC
CBU Wins Sixth-Straight Game
2/15/2018 8:26:00 PM | Women's Basketball
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – In the regular-season home finale, California Baptist University took the court for its third game in five days looking to improve on its five-game winning streak. The Lancers did just that, beating Chaminade 79-51 victory on Senior Night.
CBU improved to 14-11, 11-6 in the PacWest to jump into a tie for third place in the conference standings. Chaminade drops to 2-17, 2-15 in the conference.
Balanced scoring yet again and stifling defense ultimately led the Lancers to their third-straight, double-digit margin of victory.
Emma Meriggioli caught fire early and never cooled off, finishing with 16 points, sinking back-to-back, three-point baskets in the opening minutes. The junior guard went 5-for-9 from the field, including 4-for-8 from three-point range, and finished with five rebounds and four assists. Georgia Dale led CBU with 22 points (8-for-16), while Tori Mitchell was just shy of a double-double. She finished with nine points and 11 boards in her final regular-season home game of her CBU career.
It was a fine regular-season finish, as two CBU players, Mitchell and Emily Schmidt, were celebrating their Senior Night. Forward Schmidt added five points to go with four rebounds and spoke about the emotions of the night.
"There were definitely a lot of emotions that went into the game tonight," said Schmidt. "I was blessed to be on some pretty good teams since I've been here at CBU. I think that's an example to the underclassmen and freshmen that came in, that we have a tradition here of winning and expect to be good."
CBU started the game off with a 9-0 run, making things tough for Silverswords throughout the night, as Chaminade wouldn't find their first basket until midway through the first quarter. The Lancers extended their lead to 17-10 lead after the first quarter ended and carried momentum with them into the second.
The Lancers tried to pull away early in the quarter, but the Silverswords would not go down easy, trailing 33-22, after Chaminade converted a three-pointer. The Silverswords stayed within striking distance with one minute left in the first half, trailing 38-29, but Lancers guard Akayla Hackson drilled a three-pointer moments before the buzzer sounded to put CBU up 41-29 at half.
CBU came out with a defensive mindset in the second half, jumping out to an early 50-33 lead to start the third quarter. The Silverswords countered with a 7-2 run of their own, but the Lancers were not fazed and quickly responded with another run that gave them breathing room.
The Lancers ultimately forced the Silverswords into 18 turnovers, shooting 25 percent from the field in the second half (9-of-36). CBU shot 47-percent from the field (31-for-65), 31-percent from three (9-29) and moved the ball well with 17 assists on 31 total field goals.
Leading 61-42 heading into the final 10 minutes of action, Blaysen Varnadoe scored the opening basket for Lancers to start the fourth quarter. It was followed by a Dale layup that gave CBU momentum going forward. On the next possession, a steal by Hackson led to a Olaeta break-away basket that stretched CBU's lead to 67-42 with 8:58 left in fourth quarter.
Already up by 25 points in the closing minutes of the quarter, Schmidt grabbed a rebound after a missed Hackson jump shot, and followed it up with a layup that gave the Lancers a commanding 74-46 lead. CBU coasted the final minutes to the 79-51 victory.
The Lancers head out on the road for a trio of games, first taking on Fresno Pacific Saturday at 2:30 p.m., and then will end the regular season in the Bay Area. CBU hopes to grab pivotal wins against Dominican next Thursday at 5:30 p.m and Holy Names next Saturday at 5:30 p.m. with a berth to the PacWest Conference Tournament, held in the CBU Events Center, still on the line.
"We have a lot of momentum going," said Mitchell. "We picked it up from this game and now we're going on into Fresno Pacific and have to make sure we go in with a level mind."
