LA JOLLA – California Baptist University women's basketball opened the 2023-24 season with a decisive victory over UC San Diego in La Jolla, 64-50. CBU has opened the last five seasons with wins, and tonight's result pushes the current win streak over the Tritons to three straight.
Head Coach Jarrod Olson started the new Lancers', Nhug Bosch Duran, Anaiyah Tu'ua, and true freshman Sydney White alongside veteran bigs Kinsley Barrington and Grace Schmidt. It was a successful blend of experience and talent who ran out to a 15-11 lead after the first quarter.
Schmidt and Khloe Lemon would pace CBU as they outscored UCSD 24-14 in the second quarter, scoring seven and nine points, respectively. Lemon, another true freshman, led all scorers at the break with 12.
The Tritons regrouped at halftime and took the third quarter 15-13 despite CBU outshooting them 54.5% to 33.3%. The difference in the third would be turnovers, as UCSD forced CBU into seven misplays, directly resulting in 10 Triton points. Schmidt kept CBU in the mix with another big quarter, going 4-5 from the field for eight of CBU's 13 points in the frame.
The fourth quarter was a slower pace that the Lancers controlled completely, winning the frame 12-10, but more importantly, thwarting every UC San Diego rally attempt they could muster.
Ultimately, the Lancers were solid in every facet of the game and won nearly every meaningful statical category except for the turnover battle, which they lost 20-13. However, CBU bested the Tritons in every shooting metric by a significant margin, outrebounded the Tritons 39-35, and dominated points in the paint and bench points, 30-24 and 21-5, respectively.
Schmidt, a Preseason All-WAC selection, led all scorers with 19 to go with seven boards and three assists. Lemon was the Lancers' second-leading score with an even dozen, doing so efficiently on 4-7 shooting from the field. Tu'ua did it all on Monday, dropping 10 points with a team-high eight rebounds, five assists, and a block and a steal.
The Lancers are back in San Diego County on Friday, heading to San Diego proper to take on the Aztecs of San Diego State. That game will air on the Mountain West Network and is scheduled for a 6:00 p.m. tip.
