Thomas-Led Lancers Run Away With Conference Opening Win over Utah Valley; Remain Perfect at 9-0

Friday, January 8

Riverside, Calif.

2 PM

California Baptist University

9-0,1-0WAC

Utah Valley

2-2,0-1WAC

Utah Valley

California Baptist

Thomas-Led Lancers Run Away With Conference Opening Win over Utah Valley; Remain Perfect at 9-0

1/8/2021 4:50:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Daniel Cook, Assistant Director of Athletics Communications

RIVERSIDE – California Baptist women's basketball opened Western Athletic Conference play in a big way, with a 98-69 win over conference co-favorite Utah Valley in Riverside on Friday. The 29-point victory marks the Lancers' largest win over the Wolverines to date, boosts their season record to 9-0, 1-0 WAC and extends their active win-streak to 12 in-a-row – the fourth-longest in the country.

The game was seemingly in hand early, as the Lancers got off to an 11-0 start, followed by a big 17-2 run to close out the first quarter that them a 36-8 going into the second quarter. The half would end with the Lancers up 56-28, with CBU shooting an incredible 60 percent from the field and assisting on 18 of 21 made field goals. Ultimately, the Lancers would cruise to the 29-point win behind four players scoring in double-figures, and a season-high 85 percent showing (17-20) at the charity stripe.

LEADING LANCERS

Britney Thomas made her first start since Dec. 5 when the Lancers hosted UC Riverside and reminded the conference why she was a Preseason First Team selection. Thomas needed just 18 minutes to rack up 24 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Thomas came into the game leading the WAC in field goal percentage, as she now averages 68.9 percent from the field after today's 11-15 effort.

2⃣0⃣ Britney Thomas has 20 points before halftime🤯#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/PEi4yqGNSs — CBU WBB 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (@CBUwbb) January 8, 2021

Ane Olaeta extended the margin on the NCAA assist lead, as she added eight to the 65 she already had to give her 73, which is 10 more than the next-closest player. As a team, the Lancers assisted on 82.8 percent (29-35) of their made field goals.

While Caitlyn Harper came off the bench, she played like a starter and scored 16 points in just 19 minutes of action, including a pair of three-pointers. Nicole Avila-Ambrosi was the final piece to the Lancers' puzzle that Utah Valley couldn't solve. The freshman guard scored a career-high 18 points and tacked on five boards, two assists and a game-high four steals.

🪣🪣 Just a clip of Nicole Avila-Ambrosi scoring four points in twenty seconds, no big deal. Lancers lead 36-8 after the first quarter!#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/4ziE9FeWYO — CBU WBB 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (@CBUwbb) January 8, 2021

LOCKDOWN DEFENSE

CBU has attributed much of their offensive success this season to their hard work on the defensive end of the floor. Today was no different, as the Lancers scored 19 points off of turnovers and held the Wolverines to just 33.8 percent shooting from the field and just 22.2 percent from beyond the arc. The Lancers are averaging 10.6 steals and 5.4 blocks per game.

"We definitely brought a lot of energy into the game today from the start and while scoring points is important, we've been working a lot on our defense in practice because it's critical if we want to continue winning games," said Avila-Ambrosi after the game. "We realize that every game is an opportunity for us and we can't take them for granted so we needed to give it our all on both sides of the floor."

WHAT'S NEXT
The Lancers will be back at it less than 24-hours after today's tipoff, as they will host Utah Valley for the second of a back-to-back series Saturday at noon.