RIVERSIDE – California Baptist University women's basketball took over sole possession of first place in the Western Athletic Conference after a come-from-behind win at home against Abilene Christian, 77-71. The Lancers are 15-2 on the season and 6-0 in the WAC with a 10-game win streak that is tied for the second longest in Division I, the same as Florida Gulf Coast and behind South Dakota who is going on 14 in a row.
The Lancers got help from everyone today, with half-a-dozen players making an argument for the title of play of the game. It was
Ane Olaeta leading the way from the tip, though, as the Basque Country point guard scored a game-high 18 points to go with five assists and four steals. Olaeta also went 4-4 from the free-throw line, all in the final period, to help seal the victory for CBU.
Caitlyn Harper was right there with Olaeta, scoring 17 points and grabbing eight rebounds.
Trinity San Antonio came off the bench to be the third and final Lancer in double-figures with 11, nine of
which came in the first half helping CBU stay level with the hot-shooting Wildcats.
Dorcas Wu could do no wrong in the fourth quarter, scoring all nine of her points on 4-4 shooting from the field in the closeout period and also blocking a pair of shots, and recording zero turnovers while playing all 10 minutes of the quarter.
Tiena Neale finished the game with six points on a pair of three-pointers, but it was her defense that shined brightest on Saturday, making a key defensive play when she blocked an ACU three-point attempt with 12 seconds left when it was still just a three-point game.
ACU opened the game scoring first, but would not hold the lead for much of the game. They would eventually find themselves down 11 with 4:32 left in the second quarter, but responded in a big way, going on a 13-2 run to close the first half tied at 34.
The Lancers came out from the halftime break and played an incredibly efficient second half, shooting 15-28 (54%) from the field. Abilene would start the fourth quarter with a two-point advantage, but CBU would hold on for the win by holding the Wildcats to just 3-13 from the field and forcing them into nine turnovers in the final eight minutes of the game.
UP NEXT
The Lancers now prepare for a tough road test against Sam Houston State (Jan. 27) and Stephen F. Austin (Jan. 29). Thursday's game against the Bearkats is slated to tip at 4:30 p.m. Pacific while Saturday's showdown with the Ladyjacks will start at 12 p.m. Pacific.
