LAS VEGAS--- The California Baptist University women's basketball team opened up WAC Tournament play with a tightly-contested 81-72 victory over the Utah Tech Trailblazers at the Orleans Arena. 

CBU trailed by as many as seven in the contest but battled back as they did in their regular season matchup with Utah Tech in late February. The Lancers have made it to the semifinals in every WAC tournament since they became eligible in 2021. The victory now sets up a rubber match between the Lady Jacks of Stephen F. Austin and the Lancers on Friday. 

In the first half, CBU started cold from the perimeter, missing their first 12 attempts before closing the half, hitting four of their final five. Tiena Neale closed the half with a bang, banking in a deep triple from the right corner to bring CBU to within four at the break. Dorcas Wu and Grace Shmidt chipped in six apiece to lead the Lancers in scoring. 

The third quarter was the turning point for CBU as they throttled the Trailblazers 25-10 to flip the momentum. Chloe Webb scored 11 of her 17 points in the period to give the Lancers their largest lead at 17. The Trailblazers made a run to close the gap in the fourth to seven, but Sila Finau knocked down some clutch threes to hold off their run. 

Finau had two points on 1-7 shooting through three quarters before finding her rhythm in the fourth. Finau scored 14 points in the final frame, including converting 4-4 from downtown. When asked about her early shooting slump, Finau had this to say,

"You can't let that stop you from shooting. I took that confidence with me into the fourth quarter and let it fly," said Finau. 

The Lancers held a ten-point advantage in both points in the paint and bench scoring, fueled by Webb and Filipa Barros. Barros tied a season-high with seven assists off the bench and chipped in six points. Webb, Finau, and Schmidt all finished in double-figures and combined for 48 points on 55% shooting. 

CBU will face SFA on Friday, March 10, at noon in the Orleans Arena.