Box Score
JACKSON, TN: The Texas Wesleyan University women’s basketball team (28-6) suffered an 88-75 loss at the hands of fifth ranked Cal Baptist University (27-7) at the NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship.
The Lancers came out hot, hitting each of their first five shots and grabbing a 13-4 lead. The Lancers pushed ahead 19-8 behind 10 early points from senior forward Dana Olsen. The Lady Rams used an 8-0 run to make it a one-possession game (19-16), but the Lancers answered immediately with a 7-0 run of their own bringing the score to 26-16.
The Lancers shot 58.6% in the period and led 42-30 at the break.
Cal-Baptist all but ended Texas Wesleyan’s hopes of a comeback by starting the second period with a 20-7 run that put the Lancers in command at 62-37. The Rams were able to whittle the lead down to 72-61 with 6:14 on the clock, but the Lancers came out of a timeout and went on a 12-3 run that brought the score to 84-64 with 3:13 to play.
For the game, CBU outshot Texas Wesleyan 58.9%-40.6% from the field. CBU also hit at a 61.1% clip (11-for-18) from long range, while the Rams shot just 26.9% (7-for-26) from beyond the arc. The Rams forced 21 turnovers, but CBU controlled the glass to the tune of a 41-25 rebounding advantage.
Olsen led all scorers with 29 points, while V.V. Vasciunaite added 21 and Brenna Hahn finished with 19 for Cal Baptist.
The Lancers improved to 1-1 all-time in National Tournament play, while the Rams fell to 0-2.
At 28-6 overall, the Lady Rams finished the year one win shy of the school record of 29 wins set in 1978-79. The Rams finished second in the Red River Athletic Conference with a league record of 18-4 and reached the final of the RRAC tournament. Four Lady Rams were named All-RRAC including first-team selection
Brittany White.
Octavia Mullins set the school’s single season record for total rebounds at 352.
