California Baptist University
20-3,12-2WAC
Grand Canyon
21-5,13-2WAC
Lancers Takedown Lopes in Battle of Top Teams in the WAC
2/17/2024 10:59:00 PM | Women's Basketball
RIVERSIDE - The California Baptist University campus was full of action on Saturday, but no other contest held more singular importance than the battle between the top women's basketball teams in the Western Athletic Conference. The Lancers came out on top after a physical 40 minutes of action, defeating Grand Canyon 71-65. Nae Nae Calhoun stepped up when her team needed her, leading CBU with 17 points and nine rebounds, both career-high marks.
Five Lancers hit double-digits, and every Lancer who saw playing time found their way into the score column. Anaiyah Tu'ua got the Lancers started, scoring ten of her 14 points in the first half, while Filipa Barros split her 13 points between the two halves. Kinsley Barrington and Chloe Webb were restrained with foul trouble late in the game but still managed double figures at 12 and 10 points, respectively.
The Lancers started the game on another level, playing one of the most incredible quarters they have posted this season. CBU shot an even 60% from the field and 66.7% from distance while holding the Lopes to just 30 and 11.1 percent from the same zones. Tu'ua led the lay with eight, Webb added seven, and Barrington poured in six points in the first quarter, all more than the highest-scoring Lope in the same frame.
Contributions came from the entire roster, highlighted by Sydney White draining the first shot of the second quarter, a long three, to push CBU's lead to 27-13. GCU would answer back with multiple runs in the period, eventually tying the game at 34-34 before CBU scored seven points in the final 1:48 to take a seven-point lead into the break.
The third quarter was a defensive battle, with both teams struggling to find their shot after the halftime break. The final frame was back to normal, with the teams combining for 39 points in the last 10 minutes. Foul trouble became a real issue for both sides, and Webb and Barrington both fouled out in the fourth. GCU would lose three players to foul limitations in the final minutes.
With the Lancers two leading scorers over the past four games on the bench for the rest of the contest, it was Calhoun's time to shine. She scored 10 of her team-high 17 points in the second half, including the opening bucket in the fourth, as well as nabbing two steals and draining a pair of free throws to seal the final score.
The Lopes kept it tight, trailing by just two with under two minutes to go, but Barros, Tu'ua, and Calhoun would keep them at bay with timely free throw shooting.
The win secures a fourth-straight 20-win season for the Lancers (20-3, 12-2 WAC) and should bump CBU to the top of the WAC Resume Seeding system. Grand Canyon (21-5, 13-2 WAC) remains atop the conference standings by half a game, with the two slated to meet again to conclude the regular season in Phoenix on March 9th.
Up next for CBU is a pair of home games as they prepare to welcome Abilene Christian and Tarleton on February 22 and 24, respectively.
