LAS VEGAS--- California Baptist University competed in their second Western Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship game, facing the regular-season champs of Southern Utah. The Lancers battled through all 40 minutes but came up short with an 82-73 loss.
FIRST HALF:
CBU found themselves in an early hole as Southern Utah jumped out to an 18-9 lead in the first quarter. Once again, the Lancers had to deal with foul trouble as Chloe Webb, Sila Finau, and Trinity San Antonio were called for multiple infractions in the first half. Kinsley Barrington started well against her former squad with six early points and a block. CBU held a sizable advantage in the paint, outscoring the Thunderbirds 16-6 in that department.
SECOND HALF:
Finau dominated the third quarter to keep the Lancers in the ball game, scoring 13 of her 15 points in that frame. Finau was 5-7 from the field in the period, including a pair of triples. The Lancers ran into more foul trouble in the game as San Antonio, Barrington, and Finau all fouled out in the fourth quarter. CBU was able to climb back in and cut the Southern Utah lead down to six late in the ball game thanks to forced turnovers and perimeter shooting, but the Thunderbirds salted the game away at the free throw line to clinch their win.
NOTABLES:
Webb and Finau were both named to the WAC All-Tournament Team, leadinig CBU in scoring in the tournament at 18.3 and 13.7 points per game. Webb led the offense on Saturday with 21 points on 6-11 shooting. Webb helped CBU close in on Southern Utah late by scoring 15 of her points in the fourth quarter. Finau finished with 15 points and three assists. A growing theme in this tournament was the bench contribution for CBU, and they got it again tonight, outscoring the Thunderbirds 30-5, led by Webb and Barrington.
SEASON RECAP:
CBU finished the season 19-13 with a 13-5 record in WAC play. The women have recorded double-digit wins every season in Division I and four of their five seasons in WAC play. They now hold a 5-3 WAC tournament record with wins over #5 Utah Tech and #1 Stephen F. Austin in 2023. The Lancer's two wins over SFA marked the first time in five years any team has beaten SFA twice, and they were the only conference opponent to beat them in Nacogdoches this year.
Trinity San Antonio was named All-WAC First Team with teammate Grace Schmidt earning Second Team and All-Freshman honors. Schmidt made the All-Freshman Team after leading all conference freshman with over 13 points and five rebounds per game as well as the third highest field goal percentage among all regular players in the WAC.
After exiting the conference tournament, the Lancers will wait to see if they are selected to participate in the WNIT or another postseason tournament.
