RIVERSIDE--- The California Baptist University women's basketball team opened Western Athletic Conference (WAC) play against the UT Arlington Mavericks inside the CBU Events Center. It marked the first-ever meeting between the two programs. The Lancers won their WAC opener for the third straight season and defeated the Mavericks 67-61.
The Mavericks entered the season ranked #2 in the preseason poll and were 6-6 to begin the year.
In the first quarter, the Lancers missed 11 of their first 12 shots before rallying to take a brief lead and trailed by one at the end of the opening period. CBU led by as many as 11 and dominated the second period, outscoring the Mavericks 22-13 and taking an eight-point halftime advantage. The Lancers found their stroke from deep, shooting 50%.
Dorcas Wu stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, seven rebounds, and three assists, while teammate
Grace Schmidt had 12 points and seven rebounds.
In the second half, the Lancers extended the lead to 11 before the Mavericks cut it back to as few as five.
Nae Nae Calhoun had a career-high with six steals, and her defensive intensity wore off on the team, with CBU forcing 18 turnovers in the game.
After a career-high 20 rebounds last game against Western Kentucky,
Dorcas Wu erupted for a career-high 18 points to go along with 13 rebounds and four assists to help lead the Lancers to an early statement win over UT Arlington.
Grace Schmidt also had a career-high in points (21) and rebounds (11) to form a deadly dynamic duo to upset the Mavericks.
Next up for the Lancers will be a New Year's Eve trip to Phoenix to take on the Grand Canyon Antelopes at 2 p.m.
