California Baptist University
1-9,0-0WAC
Saint Mary's
4-5,0-0WCC
Lancers Earn Hard-Fought Road Victory Over St. Mary's
12/7/2024 4:48:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MORAGA, CA - The California Baptist University women's basketball claimed their first win of the 2024-25 season on Saturday afternoon over St. Mary's, 71-68, led by Anaiyah Tu'ua's best game of the season. Tu'ua put up game highs in points, 20, and assists, eight, accounting for 37 of CBU's 71 points in Northern California. The result drops St. Mary's College's record to 4-5 on the season.
Tu'ua has a game with 26 points this year, doing so against San Diego State, but she was unstoppable during Saturday's victory. She went 8-14 (57.1%) from the field while dishing out eight assists without a single turnover. If Tu'ua wasn't blowing by her defender to score, she was using previous results to draw in defenders to open things up for Grace Schmidt and Emma Johansson down low.
Saturday was also the first game this season that as many as four Lancers scored in double-figures as Schmidt (15), Nhug Bosch Duran (12), and Johansson (11) all broke the barrier as well. Though she was kept out of double figures, Claudia Fiel came up with seven timely points and a career-high six assists. Schmidt also led the game in rebounds with eight, including three offensive grabs, the last of which she converted into two points when CBU was trailing by three with less than three minutes to go. Johansson joined the career-best party with four blocks against the Gaels, which did more than stop eight potential SMC points but also made the Gaels hesitant to come back into the paint after three of those denials came in the first half.
The Lancers came out firing, knowing that they'd need a good start with a short bench, and their start was fantastic. CBU went on an 8-2 run that took up the majority of the first quarter and started the second on a 10-0 run that saw the Lancers claim their largest lead of the season at 21-9. CBU would relinquish some of that lead before the break and head into the locker room with a 27-23 advantage.
The third quarter was a complete change of pace as both teams at least doubled their score total from the first half. SMC won the frame, 30-27, but both teams shot remarkably well for all ten minutes and committed just seven combined turnovers.
The final quarter was a back-and-forth affair, with neither side ever holding more than a three-point advantage. Eventually, the Gaels would take a 68-65 lead with 2:11 left in the game, but the Lancer defense would clamp down, and SMC would never score again. Tu'ua, Schmidt, and Fiel all contributed to points during CBU's final push, but the sealing play may have come from Sydney White. With just 48 seconds left and a one-point CBU lead, White came up with her second steal of the game to help CBU shut out the home team down the stretch.
The Lancers will wrap up their five-game road trip next Wednesday with a bus ride North to take on former CBU assistant coach Angie Ned and her new squad, the CSUN Matadors. Wednesday's contest is set for a 6:00 p.m. tip.
