By: Daniel Cook, Assistant Director of Athletics Communications
Box Score RIVERSIDE – California Baptist University women's basketball swept its fourth consecutive Western Athletic Conference opponent in as many series following Saturday's 70-51 win over New Mexico State.
The Lancers' season record now sits at 16-0 (8-0 WAC), which is the best undefeated mark in the nation. It also pushes their active win streak to 19 in-a-row -- the second longest in the nation behind only inactive Princeton.
The Aggies went on a 10-0 run late in the fourth, which got the Lancer lead down to as low at 12 at one point. CBU, however, used the final media timeout of the game to get
Caitlyn Harper back on the floor. She turned around and scored nine of the Lancers' final 12 points, allowing NMSU just three, to quickly put the game away.
Four Lancers made it to double-digits this afternoon, led by Harper who finished the day with 19 points, four rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
Ane Olaeta and
Britney Thomas each poured in 13, with Olaeta adding another nine assists to her season total which now reaches up to 114. Thomas went 5-8, shooting at the high clip of 62.5 percent.
Taylor Wu was the first Lancer to reach double figures and ended the game with 12 points and a team-high three steals. All five of Wu's field goals came on fastbreaks, as the Lancers' defense made it possible to turn 19 Aggie turnovers into 21 Lancer points.
NATIONAL MARKS
All season long, the Lancers have made their case to be a team to be recognized on the national level, but individually Olaeta and Thomas are making cases that cannot be overlooked.
Olaeta increased her season assist total to 114, which would put her back on top of the NCAA standings. She is also averaging 7.7 assists per game, which would land her tied for second in the nation. Thomas plays a little over 17 minutes per game, but is averaging 13.0 points per game, with a field goal percentage of 67.0, a mark that lands her second in the NCAA.
A DEFENSIVE DAY
What yesterday's game had in offensive dominance, today's had on the defensive end. The Lancers held the Aggies to just 34.5 percent shooting from the field. Despite coming into the weekend leading the WAC with 33.3 percent three-point shooting, it took New Mexico State until 5:40 left in the game to hit its first three on Saturday. NMSU finished the contest going 5-19 and just 6-27 for the series for a total of just 22.2 percent.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Lancers will travel back to Texas, this time to Edinburg -- home of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley -- for a set of games on Friday and Saturday against the Vaqueros. Both games are set for 11 a.m. PST start times.
