SANTA BARBARA – California Baptist University women's basketball ran its record up to 6-0 at UC Santa Barbara on Friday night, using a huge second half from
Ane Olaeta and
Caitlyn Harper to down the Gauchos 85-75 in the Thunderdome. This pushes the Lancers' overall win streak to nine in-a-row, dating back to last season, which ties them with UConn and Bucknell for the eighth longest in NCAA Division I.
The difference in the game was an incredible second half from Olaeta, who overcame foul trouble to finish with 17 points, 13 assists, and eight rebounds, and Harper, who scored 20 of her new career-high 26 points in the second-half.
"Ane and Caitlyn were great tonight. Ane really controlled the game with her drives and her passing," said Head Coach
Jarrod Olson after the game. "It was nice to see Caitlyn get going. She has been working really hard coming back from her injury last year and I think tonight was a turning point for her. She was tough to stop."
DEFENSE EQUALS OFFENSE
Defense was key again, as has been the theme for the Lancers for most of the season. For the third game in a row and fifth overall, CBU held its opponent to under 40 percent shooting, with the Gauchos managing just 38.4 percent.
Brittany Klaman, who drained a timely three-pointer in the third quarter as part of a Lancers' 16-5 run to end the frame, detailed how the team turned a one-point halftime deficit into a 10-point victory.
"Our energy came from our defense and that energy converted into buckets," Klaman said. "The atmosphere that we created on the bench and the court was absolutely incredible all game."
A REAL TEST
For the first time this season, the Lancers trailed at halftime (36-35) after the Gauchos hit a three with under three seconds left in the half. Besides trailing after two quarters, the Lancers were also on the wrong end of an 11-2 foul count, but CBU regrouped and pulled away.
"I was really proud of the composure the team showed. We responded well when UCSB made their runs and that resilience will serve us well going forward," Olson said.
Klaman added a more direct and simple response. "It really helps having players who can score the way that Caitlyn and Ane can."
UP NEXT
The Lancers will head out to Malibu on Tuesday, Dec. 15 to take on the Pepperdine Waves for a 5 p.m. tip. The only prior meeting between these squads came in CBU's inaugural season in Division I when it hosted the first round of the WNIT. The Waves took that meeting by a score of 91-79.
