RIVERSIDE – California Baptist University women's basketball completed its third-straight Western Athletic Conference series sweep Saturday afternoon. The Lancers defeated Chicago State 67-52 at the CBU Events Center, and improved to 14-0 on the season and 6-0 in the WAC.
As has been the case for the entire season, the Lancers continue to inject themselves in a bigger conversation as the lone 14-0 team in the nation, with No. 1 Louisville at 13-0 and second-ranked NC State and No. 3 UConn at 10-0.
CBU also improved its active win-streak to 17-straight, trailing only UConn, whose win streak is at 19-games, and inactive Princeton who remains at 22. The Lancers' undefeated season improves their program-best start with each win, previously the team's best start to a season was 7-0 starts during the 2015-16 and 2019-20 seasons.
Today's win was spearheaded by
Caitlyn Harper, who recorded her second-straight double-double of the series and fourth of the season. She scored a game-high 22 points and grabbed 10 boards. Freshman
Nicole Avila-Ambrosi was the next highest scorer for the Lancers, dropping 13 points while also grabbing six rebounds, five of which came on the offensive end of the floor.
Taylor Wu was the final CBU player to crack double-digit points with 10.
"I thought Caitlyn played really well today. She was a real presence inside on both ends," Head Coach
Jarrod Olson said. "
Brittany Klaman did a really nice job stepping in for Ane. We were plus 15 with her in the game and she had a nice all-around game".
SERIES IN REVIEW
The Lancers assisted on 43 of their 56 made baskets (76.8 percent) from the field while shooting 42.4 percent from the field. They have been a high-assist team all year, but keeping pace with the absence of
Ane Olaeta for game two of the series shows the Lancers depth reaches to all aspects of their game.
Harper (20.5), Avila-Ambrosi (13.0) and Wu (10.0) averaged double-digit scoring for the series, with Harper also grabbing 24 total boards -- twice as many as any other Lancer. Klaman led the team in assists against Chicago State with 10, while
Georgia Dale got it done on defense, recording three blocks and four steals over her two-game stretch against the Cougars.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Lancers were originally scheduled to take on Dixie State next weekend in St. George, Utah, but the Trailblazers canceled their season on Jan. 5. CBU is actively working on filling the void, but nothing has been confirmed as of yet. Check back on CBULancers.com for the most updated information regarding scheduling.
