Women’s Basketball 2019-2020 Season Preview
11/1/2019 12:36:00 PM | Women's Basketball
RIVERSIDE – After completing one of most successful inaugural seasons in NCAA Division I history, the California Baptist University women's basketball team has its sights on improving in year two.
Coach Jarrod Olson enters his eighth year at the reins, with the Lancers coming off an 18-win season. CBU also finished runner-up in the Western Athletic Conference and earned a berth and right to host a first-round game in the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) in 2018-19. The Lancers were just the second team in the history of Division I to qualify and host the WNIT in their inaugural season.
The success of this season will start with the four returning starters from 2018-19. Britney Thomas, who was the 2018-19 WAC Newcomer of the Year and 2019-20 Preseason First Team All-WAC honoree, leads the quartet after averaging a double-double last year with 15.9 points per game and 10.8 rebounds per game.
Point guard Ane Olaeta, the team's assist leader from the past two seasons, returns to a talented backcourt. Delacy Brown is likely to join Olaeta at the other guard position, as she did for 27 games last year. Brown is a threat to drive and shoot after shooting 35 percent from three, which ranked second on the team in 2018-19.
Lexy Ram is the returning leader in all things three-point related, as she rounds out the returning starters. The senior shot 40.3 percent from beyond the arc last year, improving on her career average by over 40 points. Ram also led the team in free-throw percentage (79.6) as a junior.
CBU's fifth and final starting spot is up for grabs and could rotate depending on the matchup.
Regardless if she starts or not, Georgia Dale is expected to see plenty of playing time this season. Dale has played in all 59 games the Lancers have played during her two years in Riverside and logged 15 starts along the way.
Caitlyn Harper will be look to build on an impressive freshman season with CBU. The 6-foot-1 sophomore gave the Lancers one of the most talented front courts in the WAC, scoring double-digit points in 14 of the 29 games she played in as a freshman.
Five talented freshmen: Lauren With, Tiena Neale, Ragnheiður Einarsdóttir, Taylor Wu, Gracie Champion give CBU depth this season.
The Lancer women start the new campaign with seven-straight home contests, including games against Big West, Big Sky, and Southwestern Athletic Conference opponents. After the extended homestand CBU will face its toughest test in program history, as it takes on the perennial powerhouse that is the Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team in the Victoria Invitational Tournament, in Victoria, Canada.
Season tickets, mini-plans, and individual game tickets can be purchased at www.cbulancers.com/bballtickets
Coach Jarrod Olson enters his eighth year at the reins, with the Lancers coming off an 18-win season. CBU also finished runner-up in the Western Athletic Conference and earned a berth and right to host a first-round game in the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) in 2018-19. The Lancers were just the second team in the history of Division I to qualify and host the WNIT in their inaugural season.
The success of this season will start with the four returning starters from 2018-19. Britney Thomas, who was the 2018-19 WAC Newcomer of the Year and 2019-20 Preseason First Team All-WAC honoree, leads the quartet after averaging a double-double last year with 15.9 points per game and 10.8 rebounds per game.
Point guard Ane Olaeta, the team's assist leader from the past two seasons, returns to a talented backcourt. Delacy Brown is likely to join Olaeta at the other guard position, as she did for 27 games last year. Brown is a threat to drive and shoot after shooting 35 percent from three, which ranked second on the team in 2018-19.
Lexy Ram is the returning leader in all things three-point related, as she rounds out the returning starters. The senior shot 40.3 percent from beyond the arc last year, improving on her career average by over 40 points. Ram also led the team in free-throw percentage (79.6) as a junior.
CBU's fifth and final starting spot is up for grabs and could rotate depending on the matchup.
Regardless if she starts or not, Georgia Dale is expected to see plenty of playing time this season. Dale has played in all 59 games the Lancers have played during her two years in Riverside and logged 15 starts along the way.
Caitlyn Harper will be look to build on an impressive freshman season with CBU. The 6-foot-1 sophomore gave the Lancers one of the most talented front courts in the WAC, scoring double-digit points in 14 of the 29 games she played in as a freshman.
Five talented freshmen: Lauren With, Tiena Neale, Ragnheiður Einarsdóttir, Taylor Wu, Gracie Champion give CBU depth this season.
The Lancer women start the new campaign with seven-straight home contests, including games against Big West, Big Sky, and Southwestern Athletic Conference opponents. After the extended homestand CBU will face its toughest test in program history, as it takes on the perennial powerhouse that is the Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team in the Victoria Invitational Tournament, in Victoria, Canada.
Season tickets, mini-plans, and individual game tickets can be purchased at www.cbulancers.com/bballtickets
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