California Baptist University
28-4,18-2WAC
#2 UCLA
26-6,13-5Pac-12
CBU Women Make Debut In NCAA Tournament Against #2 UCLA In Westwood
3/23/2024 10:22:00 PM | Women's Basketball
WESTWOOD. CA - The historic 2023-24 women's basketball season culminated in the first-ever match-up between California Baptist University and UCLA on Saturday night in Westwood. The Lancers made Riverside and the entire CBU community proud with a strong effort as the 15-seeded Lancers ultimately fell to the 2-seed Bruins by a score of 84-55.
Seniors Kinsley Barrington and Nae Nae Calhoun carried much of the offensive load for CBU in Pauley Pavilion in the Lancers March Madness debut. Barrington put in a team-high 18 points, three rebounds, and three steals. Calhoun was the only other Lancer to break into double-figures, posting a complete stat line of 10 points, six boards, five steals, and CBU's lone block in the game.
Coming in as a top-25 scorer in the Nation meant the Bruins were locked in on the senior from San Diego, stifling her defensively while holding her to just eight points, three rebounds, a team-high three assists, and a steal. Nhug Bosch Duran, Anaiyah Tu'ua, and Khloe Lemon added five points each, and Emily Sewell chipped in the final four.
The Bruins opened the game with an 8-0, but the Lancer defense held strong and held the UCLA offense to just 17 points in the opening frame. Shots weren't falling for CBU early, going just 3-18 from the field, with all eight points coming from an even split between Webb and Barrington.
An incredible atmosphere turned up in the second quarter when a few more CBU shots began to fall. The Lancers and Bruins traded buckets for a while to start the period. Still, things shifted towards CBU as the Lancers rattled off a 9-0 run paced by four points apiece from Sewell and Tu'ua, making it a three-point game and forcing a UCLA timeout. The Bruins would respond after the TV break with a run of their own. The Bruins would hold a 12-point lead at 34-22 at the break.
The Bruins began to pull away in the third with an early run that would push their lead to 20. CBU never rolled over, getting sparks of renewed energy throughout the second half, none more crowd-pleasing than when Nae Nae Calhoun shook her defender into oblivion, finishing with an easy lay-in.
That energy bled into the fourth quarter, which CBU used to make a 10-3 run and get the game back to 14 points, prompting a UCLA timeout. The Bruins would regain control after that and see out the rest of the game the same way most of their games ended with a win while dribbling out the final few ticks of the clock.
The Lancers finished with a DI record 28 wins, eclipsing the previous mark of 26, set during the 2020-21 season. The Lancers also completed the fourth undefeated home season in program history, matching the best mark of 14-0 first accomplished in the 2015-16 season. All four unblemished home stands have come under the leadership of Jarrod Olson, who earned the conference Coach of the Year award every season, and the team accomplished this mark.
Chloe Webb finishes out the year with record numbers across the board. Her 20.7 points per game rank fourth all-time, and her 662 total points rank fourth in the single-season category. Though it spanned just two years, Webb's career has been among the best for the Blue and Gold. She will go down with the fifth-highest points-per-game average, 16.3, in program history. Webb will rank in the top three of no less than a dozen single-season and career categories when focused just on the Division I era.
This year's team was among the best in the country to do it. The Lancers were top-10 in points (10th, 81.2), three-pointers made (5th, 9.9 per game) and assists (8th, 19.3 per game). They also did that while leading the Western Athletic Conference in points per game, assists per game, rebounds, and assist-to-turnover ratio.
Though Head Coach Jarrod Olson and the Lancers are now faced with the truth of a team without Webb, Barrington, and Calhoun, a strong core of should-be returners just got a taste for NCAA postseason play and will return next season ready for more.
