Stephen F. Austin falls in WAC title game

LAS VEGAS — Chloe Webb scored 24 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead California Baptist to a 75-74 win over Stephen F. Austin on Saturday in the WAC Tournament championship game, with the Lancers advancing to their first NCAA Tournament.

The Lancers won the conference tournament in 2021 but were ineligible for the NCAA Tournament because they were in a transition period to Division I.

CBU trailed by seven with just under five minutes to go then scored the next 12 points with Nae Nae Calhoun tying it with a 3-pointer and Nhug Bosch Duran hitting a baseline 3 in transition for the Lancers’ first lead. Anaiyah Tu’ua found Kinsley Barrington underneath to complete the run.

The Ladyjacks cut the lead to two in the final 30 seconds, but a pair of free throws by Webb with 6.2 seconds left made it a four-point margin. Avery VanSickle hit a deep 3 with 2.5 seconds remaining, but CBU was able to inbound the ball and run out the clock.

Webb, the WAC’s player of the year, was just 6-of-20 shooting but 12of-14 from the free-throw line for the top-seeded Lancers (28-3), who won their ninth straight game. Tu’ua added 22 points on 6-of-12 shooting and made 8-of-11 free throws. The Lancers missed their first 12 3-point attempts but made 5-of-12 from that point.

Kurstyn Harden scored 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting and had 12 rebounds to lead third-seeded Stephen F. Austin. (22-12)

MID-AMERICAN

Katie Shumate had 18 points and nine rebounds to lead Kent State past Buffalo 78-60, winning the

MAC Tournament championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002.

The Golden Flashes will be making their sixth appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

After trailing 34-30 at halftime, the Golden Flashes dominated the third quarter, outscoring the Bulls 29-13 to take a 59-47 lead into the final period.

Dionna Gray’s 3-pointer gave the Golden Flashes a 38-37 lead a couple of minutes into the third quarter, and they held the lead for the remainder of the game.