RIVERSIDE – Senior forward
Tiena Afu scored a career-high 22 points in Saturday afternoon's 103-68 drubbing of Chicago State. The win earns the Lancers their first season sweep of a Western Athletic Conference opponent this year and leaves them with just four games left in 2020 to improve on their 13-14 (4-8 WAC) record.
The Lancers had their best shooting game of the season, hitting on 56.3 percent (36-64) of their shots from the field, easily surpassing their previous best of 51.4 percent (36-70) against Northern Arizona on Nov. 21.
Head Coach
Jarrod Olson reflected on the senior's career game and how it impacted the team as a whole.
"Tiena got into a great rhythm and Ane did a great job finding her a couple times, but the ball movement was just so good that after T hit a few everyone caught on," Olson said.
Afu did most of her damage early, scoring 18 of her 22 points in the first half. The effort was needed as the Cougars kept within reach of the Lancers trailing by eight after the first, and 14 at halftime.
Afu worked efficiently, going 9-10 from the field, including a perfect 3-3 from beyond the arc, all of which came before the first media timeout. She would round out her day with seven rebounds and a pair of steals in just 26 minutes of work.
Lexy Ram filled up the box score with 17 points, six rebounds, four assists, a steal, a block and a buzzer-beating layup to end the third quarter.
Ane Olaeta had a strong showing shooting 70.0 percent (7-10) from the field and dishing out a game high seven assists.
Georgia Dale scored 14 points and snatched four rebounds, but one of her six assists stole the show. For the second time in as many games Dale hit a streaking teammate with a behind-the-back dime.
Taylor Wu did a little bit of everything packing the scoresheet, with 11 points, four dimes, three boards a steal and a block. While Afu had the best overall game, Wu may have claim to the play of the game, shaking a defender for an easy bucket.
Delacy Brown was the final Lancer in double-figures with 10 points, but she also matched a season-high with seven rebounds.
The Lancers sprinted out of the gate, running up an 11-2 score within three minutes of tipoff and led 29-21 after the first. The second quarter saw CBU start with a 5-0 run and end on a 10-0 run, going into halftime with a 14-point lead.
California Baptist pulled away in the third during a two-minute stretch where it hit three three-pointers in a row, capped with a layup, to extend their lead to 26. In the fourth quarter, the Lancers shot at a 50 percent (6-12) clip and built a 38-point lead before CSU hit a three in the final seconds to cement the final score of 103-68.
The Lancers will embark on their final road trip of the season next week, first heading to Orem, Utah, on Wednesday to cap their season series with the Wolverines before continuing onto the Pacific Northwest to take on the Redhawks of Seattle U on Saturday.
