RIVERSIDE - Wednesday night was primed with anticipation as the California Baptist University women's basketball team was set to host their 2023-24 home opener against Long Beach State. The Lancers exceeded those lofty expectations with an 82-71 victory, led by a career-high 29 points from Chloe Webb.
Webb didn't just rack up buckets, she was busy cleaning the glass all night as well, grabbing a game-high 11 boards, including four do-overs on the offensive end. She also marked career highs in three-pointers made (five), three-pointers taken (12), field goals attempted (20), and matched her career mark in field goals made (10). All those milestones pail in comparision to the three-pointer she hit with two minutes and change left that pushed her into the 1,000-point club, with 356 of those points being scored for CBU.
The game was tight early as The Beach struck first, and the teams went shot-for-shot for the first eight minutes of the game. Eventually, the Lancers would break the back and forth and pull ahead 17-15 at the end of the first. A quick 13-6 run by CBU to open the second quarter began the slow build of the Lancer lead. By the time the halftime horn sounded, California Baptist owned a 10-point lead despite going just 2-17 from distance.
Another big run, this time a 14-2 drubbing, built the Lancer lead to its highest difference of 20 points before the third quarter media timeout. Webb and Grace Schmidt accounted for all 14 of those points, working inside out to build an insurmountable lead going into the fourth.
The Beach rallied in the final frame, outscoring the Lancers by three in the fourth, but the Lancers made 4-6 free throws in the final 30 seconds of the game to ice the 11-point victory.
Schmidt finished the night with her third straight double-digit scoring effort, dropping in 15 and grabbing nine rebounds while going 6-11 from the field. Nhug Bosch Duran had her best statistical game since joining the Lancers from Wichita State this season, scoring 13 points and going 7-7 from the free throw line.
The Beach was just a step behind all night, shooting just one percent lower than the Lancers from the field. The difference in the outcome came at the charity stripe, where CBU shot 18-25 compared to LBSU's 14-20, and the Lancers owned the boards, finishing +9 in rebounding and +6 on the offensive glass.
The Lancers are home again this weekend as UTEP comes to town for the first-ever meeting between these two programs. This matchup is courtesy of the WAC/Conference USA scheduling initiative, which pits programs from these programs against each other throughout the non-conference schedule, with every team hosting and visiting a team from the other conference. The Miners and Lancers will tip off early as Saturday's game is set for an 11:00 a.m. start time.
