The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Cal Baptist
their historic journey. CBU shot a dismal 29.7% from the field in the first half and misfired on its first 12 attempts from 3-point range. The Lancers twice trailed by 11 points and were down 3729 at halftime.
The other big obstacle in the Lancers’ way was Kurstyn Harden, Stephen’s F. Austin’s 6-foot-3 senior center and the conference’s premier post player. Harden finished with a game-high 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting and also led the Ladyjacks with 12 rebounds.
“She was consistently giving us everything she’s got night in and night out,” SFA coach Leonard Bishop of Harden. “I still don’t feel like she gets officiated correctly. She comes to practices with bumps and bruises and scratches and maybe only shot four free throws in the game before. The kid consistently works. She doesn’t hang her head. She keeps coming and plays hard.”
CBU flipped the script immediately after intermission, as the Lancers made 7 of 9 shots from the field to open the second half. Tu’ua scored on a layup and capped the 16-6 run that gave the Lancers their first lead of the game, 45-43 with 4:02 left in the third period.
That lead was shortlived, however, as the Lancers went scoreless over the final 3 minutes of the period. And SFA answered back, with Destini Lombard and Avery Vansickle sinking 3-pointers to kick start a 10-3 run that gave the Ladyjacks a 53-48 advantage heading into the final quarter.
Harden scored six points over a span of 92 seconds to help SFA (22-12) extend its lead to 66-59 with 4:52 remaining in the game.
That’s when the Lancers summoned up some late magic.
Webb and Tu’ua each sank a pair of free throws to make it a one-possession game with 3:10 remaining. Nae Nae Calhoun hit a 3-pointer to bring CBU level, and then the 5-foot-5 senior point guard who starred at North High in Riverside blocked a shot by Harden. Calhoun grabbed the rebound and found Nhug Bosch Duran, who nailed another 3-pointer in the corner to give the Lancers a 69-66 lead with a little more than 2 minutes left in the game.
“It was not going our way at all,” Webb said of the team’s early shooting woes. “The first 3 that was hit changed things around and made us say, ‘Oh yeah. we’re in this.’ It made us fight a little harder. When Nhug’s went in, we were re like. ‘It’s go time!’”
Kinsley Barrington capped that decisive 12-0 run by the Lancers with a lay-up that extended the lead to 71-66 with 1:20 to play.
“Honestly, I didn’t even know what the score was at the time because at the end of the day you just have to keep working,” said Tu’a, who starred at Troy High School in Fullerton. “When those 3s went in, that just gave us that extra push that we needed.”
The Lancers had to sweat out some nervous minutes in the final minute, however. Kyla Deck knocked down a 3-pointer to help the Ladyjacks get within 71-69 with 29 seconds remaining. Tu’ua was fouled and she drained a pair of free throws to double the lead. Harden scored on a layup with 7 seconds remaining, but Webb stepped up to the free-throw line and calmly sank two free throws.
“It was fitting to see Chloe go up there and finish the game off because she has finished off so many for us this season,” Olson said.
Vansickle sank her fourth 3-pointer of the game with 3 seconds left on the clock, but the Ladyjacks could not stop the clock.
“It was a really hard fought game today,” Bishop said. “Our team came out with every intention to come out victorious. But credit to CBU. They made a few more plays and a couple more shots than we did.”
Vansickle and Deck scored 16 points and 10 points, respectively, for SFA. Lombard added seven points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Ladyjacks.
Barrington finished with 10 points for the Lancers, while Calhoun chipped in with seven points, five rebounds and three assists.