California Baptist Takes Down New Mexico to Advance to Round Two of WNIT
FORT WORTH, Texas – California Baptist improved its record to 25-0 upon defeating New Mexico by a score of 90-85 in the first round of the Women's National Invitational Tournament.
The Lancers struggled out of the gate as the Lobos opened the game on an 8-0 run to jump ahead early. The WAC Champions eventually found their rhythm and drew even with just over eight minutes remaining in the second quarter. New Mexico then went on another scoring run in the second quarter, however, senior Ane Olaeta connected on a last-second shot to pull the Lancers within five going into the half. Redshirt sophomore Caitlyn Harper led all scorers in the first half with 11 points on 5-of-8 from the field.
California Baptist's strengths rose to the surface in the second half as they went 7-for-8 to start the third quarter. With about five minutes to go in the third, Harper finished an and-one to give the Lancers their first lead of the game. The lead changed hands six times in the third quarter before the Lancers' Taylor Wu hit a wide-open triple to give CBU a four-point lead and force a UNM time out. CBU outscored the Lobos 30-22 in the third to give themselves a three-point edge heading into the final quarter.
The Lobos proved tough as they battled back to tie the score at 73-73 with 7:36 left in the game. Several huge buckets down the stretch from Harper and Britney Thomas proved to be the difference as the Lancers pulled away to keep their dreams of a perfect season alive.
The duo of Harper and Thomas led the way for CBU as they combined for 48 points and 19 rebounds on the night. Harper poured in 25 points to go along with nine boards while Thomas finished with a double-double as she had 22 points and 10 rebounds. Olaeta also tabbed a double-double as she had a stat line of 11 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds.
With the win, the Lancers became the first WAC team to win a game in the WNIT since 2011 when both Utah State and Nevada advanced to the second round. The Lancers' second-round opponent will be San Francisco, who defeated Houston 71-63 in its first-round matchup.
San Francisco is led by redshirt freshman guard Ioanna Krimilli who posts a WCC-best 18.5 points per game. Krimilli also enters the matchup with the second-most made three-pointers in the country. Senior Lucie Hoskova will also be a large part of the Dons' offensive attack, averaging 13.9 points on .514 shooting. In its first-round matchup, San Francisco received a game-high 23 points from Amalie Langer as she connected on six three-pointers against the Cougars.
The Round 2 meeting is set for tomorrow night at 8 p.m. CT in Fort Worth, Texas. All games will be available on FloHoops.