CBU Makes History in Win over Utah Valley

Thursday, January 31

Riverside, Calif.

11:00 AM

California Baptist University

Utah Valley

California Baptist

Photo by: Alicia Loh

CBU Makes History in Win over Utah Valley

1/31/2019 1:44:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Andrew Shortall, Asst. Sports Information Director

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Historically significant performances kept coming for California Baptist University, as it controlled just about every facet of the game in an 83-54 Western Athletic Conference win over Utah Valley on Thursday afternoon.

The Lancers set a program attendance record with a raucous crowd of 2,119 – made up of mostly youngsters for CBU's first-ever Education Day Game. Just about every aspect of the game was controlled by CBU, but three-point shooting in particular was key, as it hit a WAC-game record 16 three-pointers and held Utah Valley to just four.

"I was really proud of how they played, I thought they came out with a real purpose," Coach Jarrod Olson said. "The teamwork, the sharing the ball and the toughness on defense was great to see and hopefully we can continue building on that on Saturday."

Emma Meriggioli continued to etch her name further into Lancer lore, as she scored a game-high 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting from three and also had six assists. With 205 three-pointers now in her career, she ranks fifth in CBU's all-time record book.

"She's a really good shooter. She's pretty unselfish at times so sometimes she needs to be reminded she's a really good shooter. She's made 200-plus three-pointers in her career; it's okay for her to keep shooting," Olson said with a laugh.

WDN Update | @CBUwbb takes down Utah Valley 83-54. Emma Meriggioli had 21 points and six 3-pointers! pic.twitter.com/2DSgrTinS5
— WACsports (@WACsports) January 31, 2019

The win moves CBU to 10-10 and 3-4 in the Western Athletic Conference and dropped Utah Valley to 11-10, 5-3 after came into the game at third place in the standings. The Lancers close out the first half of the league schedule with a home game versus Seattle U Saturday at 1 p.m.

Four other Lancers scored nine points or more on Thursday. Britney Thomas had 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting, nine rebounds and two blocks in 18 minutes. Delacy Brown scored nine points in the half before finishing with 11, while Lexy Ram also had 11 points, six rebounds and four assists.

Georgia Dale rounded out the quartet with nine points and five assists, while Ane Olaeta also had a team-high eight assists, six rebounds and five points.

CBU's 16 threes and 29 assists as a team on Thursday were both top-six marks in the team's NCAA era. The Lancers outrebounded UVU, 49-40, and outplayed the visitors defensively. CBU held them to just 35.9 percent shooting from the field (23-64), 30.8 from three (4-13) and took care of the ball against Utah Valley's aggressive defensive.

"We did a really nice job of spreading the floor and just moving the ball," Olson said. "We took a lot of threes but that was more a product of taking the shots that were there and that were open. I thought it was one of our best passing games, and it was just great to see the teamwork out there."

Quarter one was close throughout, with CBU holding a 16-14 edge after the first 10 minutes. A quick 8-0 run on two field goals from Tiena Afu helped the Lancers take their largest lead yet, 39-28, late in the half, but Utah Valley cut its deficit to 39-34 at the break.

WDN Update | @CBUwbb has EIGHT threes in the first half against Utah Valley! pic.twitter.com/NUyMuLo1NE
— WACsports (@WACsports) January 31, 2019

CBU went on to outscore the Wolverines 25-8 in the third quarter, as Meriggioli started to heat up from the three-point line. The senior guard scored 11 points on 3-4 shooting from three in seven-and-a-half minutes of the quarter. Defensively, the Lancers held UVU to 13.3 percent shooting (2-15) in the third and took a 64-42 lead into the fourth.

"That third quarter, we really tightened up the D," said Olson, whose team primarily played man defense but also used a zone and full-court press at times. "It was nice to switch it up and change the pace a bit. The team's done a really good job working on that."

The Lancers' lead stretch out to as many as 35, 83-48, with 3:20 to play in the fourth quarter after a 13-2 run. Meriggioli, Dale, Ram, Madison Davis and Maryn Budiman all contributed to the charge.

Meriggioli, who also boasts the best free-throw percentage in CBU history at .829, can move up to third all-time if she makes 15 more three-pointers in the nine games left in the regular season. She is only the third Lancer to accumulate at least 350 assists and 200 three-pointers in her career, as she ranks ninth all-time and third in the NCAA era with 374 assists.