Saturday, April 7
Los Angeles, Calif.
12:00 PM
California Baptist University
5
at
6
Loyola Marymount
Photo by: Conner Schuh
Lancers Battle Tested At LMU
4/7/2018 3:42:00 PM | Women's Water Polo
BOX SCORE
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- For the second game in a row, California Baptist University launched a furious fourth-quarter comeback after it found itself locked in a tight defensive battle in Golden Coast Conference action on the road at Loyola Marymount on Saturday.
The 23rd-ranked Lancers nearly pulled off a big upset over the No. 16 Lions in a 6-5 loss at the Burns Aquatics Center, as they outscored LMU 5-3 in the second half, including 3-0 in the fourth quarter.
CBU simply ran out of time, as it scored twice in the final 62 seconds, with the last coming with 29 seconds left, which allowed LMU to run out the clock with the shot clock turned off. The Lancers move to 14-15, 2-3 in the GCC in what has been their toughest schedule of the NCAA era (2014-18), if not all time, while LMU 14-14, 4-1.
The Lancers get 11 days off between games, with just two regular-season GCC contests left. They travel to play Concordia University of Irvine on Wednesday, April 18 at 1:30 p.m. and then host Fresno State for their Senior Day Saturday, April 21 at noon.
Kira O'Donell finished with two goals, two drawn ejections and an assist after picking up two ejections in the first quarter for the Lancers. They also received two assists from Annie Eubanks and one each from Maddie Meza and Lizette Perez and eight saves and a steal in the cage from Grace Ramirez.
Allie Coleman scored, came up with four steals and drew an ejection, while freshmen Vickie Ochoa and Katie Fugit scored CBU's other goals. Fugit also had two steals and a drawn ejection, while Perez, Pua Wong and Vickie Ochoa forced two kick outs, as well. Eubanks also had two steals and created a power play.
Loyola Marymount took a 3-0 lead by the end of the first quarter and it remained a low-scoring affair throughout. The Lancers shut out the Lions in the second quarter before the home team took a 4-0 lead 1:12 into the third.
O'Donell got CBU on the board about a minute later on a power-play opportunity drawn by Fugit. The Lancers pulled within three on Fugit's goal with 2:42 left in the third, but the Lions appeared to be up comfortably when it took a 6-2 lead into the fourth quarter.
CBU would not quit and broke through the defense near the halfway point of the fourth quarter, with Coleman scoring on a man-up opportunity off an assist and drawn ejection from O'Donell to make it 6-3 with 3:47 remaining.
Next, O'Donell scored an even-strength goal off a Eubanks pass to make it a two-goal game with 1:02 left in regulation. The Lancers got the ball back and Eubanks found Ochoa for a goal with 29 seconds left to cap the scoring at 6-5. LMU ran out the clock to hold on for the narrow victory.
The last two games and entire season have been a challenging but valuable experience for the young Lancer squad. They are battle tested with the GCC Championships coming up April 27-29 at LMU.
CBU has only played four Division III teams this year, with one being No. 1 Pomona-Pitzer, after playing at least seven D-III opponents over the previous four seasons in the NCAA. The Lancers have also faced 18 top-25, seven top-10 and three top-five ranked teams and remain undefeated against all 10 unranked teams they've played this year, with a few upset wins under their belt, as well.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- For the second game in a row, California Baptist University launched a furious fourth-quarter comeback after it found itself locked in a tight defensive battle in Golden Coast Conference action on the road at Loyola Marymount on Saturday.
The 23rd-ranked Lancers nearly pulled off a big upset over the No. 16 Lions in a 6-5 loss at the Burns Aquatics Center, as they outscored LMU 5-3 in the second half, including 3-0 in the fourth quarter.
CBU simply ran out of time, as it scored twice in the final 62 seconds, with the last coming with 29 seconds left, which allowed LMU to run out the clock with the shot clock turned off. The Lancers move to 14-15, 2-3 in the GCC in what has been their toughest schedule of the NCAA era (2014-18), if not all time, while LMU 14-14, 4-1.
The Lancers get 11 days off between games, with just two regular-season GCC contests left. They travel to play Concordia University of Irvine on Wednesday, April 18 at 1:30 p.m. and then host Fresno State for their Senior Day Saturday, April 21 at noon.
Kira O'Donell finished with two goals, two drawn ejections and an assist after picking up two ejections in the first quarter for the Lancers. They also received two assists from Annie Eubanks and one each from Maddie Meza and Lizette Perez and eight saves and a steal in the cage from Grace Ramirez.
Allie Coleman scored, came up with four steals and drew an ejection, while freshmen Vickie Ochoa and Katie Fugit scored CBU's other goals. Fugit also had two steals and a drawn ejection, while Perez, Pua Wong and Vickie Ochoa forced two kick outs, as well. Eubanks also had two steals and created a power play.
Loyola Marymount took a 3-0 lead by the end of the first quarter and it remained a low-scoring affair throughout. The Lancers shut out the Lions in the second quarter before the home team took a 4-0 lead 1:12 into the third.
O'Donell got CBU on the board about a minute later on a power-play opportunity drawn by Fugit. The Lancers pulled within three on Fugit's goal with 2:42 left in the third, but the Lions appeared to be up comfortably when it took a 6-2 lead into the fourth quarter.
CBU would not quit and broke through the defense near the halfway point of the fourth quarter, with Coleman scoring on a man-up opportunity off an assist and drawn ejection from O'Donell to make it 6-3 with 3:47 remaining.
Next, O'Donell scored an even-strength goal off a Eubanks pass to make it a two-goal game with 1:02 left in regulation. The Lancers got the ball back and Eubanks found Ochoa for a goal with 29 seconds left to cap the scoring at 6-5. LMU ran out the clock to hold on for the narrow victory.
The last two games and entire season have been a challenging but valuable experience for the young Lancer squad. They are battle tested with the GCC Championships coming up April 27-29 at LMU.
CBU has only played four Division III teams this year, with one being No. 1 Pomona-Pitzer, after playing at least seven D-III opponents over the previous four seasons in the NCAA. The Lancers have also faced 18 top-25, seven top-10 and three top-five ranked teams and remain undefeated against all 10 unranked teams they've played this year, with a few upset wins under their belt, as well.
Players Mentioned
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
2M
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
G
/ Women's Water Polo
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