RIVERSIDE – Ane Olaeta and
Caitlyn Harper continued their recent dominating streak, scoring 21 points each against the visiting Texans during Thursday night's 85-69 win. The Lancers now stand at 13-2 on the season and 5-0 in Western Athletic Conference play, extending their current win streak to nine-straight and pushing their conference regular-season tally to 22 in a row.
Olaeta was all over the stat sheet, adding nine assists, five steals, and four rebounds to her 9-13 shooting night. It was the sixth game this season that saw Olaeta score 20 or more while also recording three or more steals.
Harper closed the game out by scoring nine of her 21 points in the fourth quarter. The WAC's leading scorer also grabbed four rebounds and blocked one shot in 29 minutes of action.
Georgia Dale did a lot of the dirty work tonight on her way to a game-high plus/minus rating of +22, scoring six points while also grabbing six boards and recording two steals. However, it was one of her three assists that got the CBU Events Center rocking when she went behind-the-back on a 2-on-1 fast break with
Nicole Avila-Ambrosi who scored the easy lay-in off the pass.
Brittany Klaman scored eight while lending a helping hand in the assist department, dishing out five dimes on the night. Klaman also had a signature moment against Tarleton, nailing a three while getting fouled and converting the and-1 free throw afterward.
The game largely came down to two significant CBU runs; the first came in the final five minutes of the first quarter when the Lancers closed out the opening frame on a 24-4 run to go up by 11. The second was a 12-4 run in the middle of the fourth quarter after TSU had gotten the Lancer lead down to 10 points after a pair of back-to-back three-pointers.
Every Lancer who hit the floor tonight scored and did so efficiently, as the team went 33-60 (55%) from the field against the Texans. TSU came into the having won all 10 games they had shot at least 37% from the field in. Though they shot well tonight in comparison, going 25-61 (41%), but the Lancers' quick hands and ability to flip the momentum were simply too much, outscoring the Texans 33-13 in points off turnovers.
UP NEXT
The Lancers now prepare for Abilene Christian to come to town as the two teams are set to face each other for the first time ever at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The Wildcats took on Seattle U on Thursday, losing to the Redhawks 75-61, dropping them to 12-6 on the season and 4-3 in conference.
