IRVINE, Calif. – The PacWest Women’s Basketball Championship game certainly lived up to expectations with the top two seeds, No. 1 California Baptist and No. 2 Point Loma, both looking for their first Tournament Championship title. It was the Lancers who came out on top by a final score of 80-72, capturing the program’s first tournament title in its fourth-straight appearance.
Point Loma took the lead early, starting the game off with a 7-0 run and
Roya Rustamzada’s 10 points in the first quarter gave the Sea Lions a 23-16 lead after the first ten minutes. Two blocks and three steals highlighted an aggressive PLNU defense.
The Lancers started the second quarter with a 7-1 run, with
Cassidy Mihalko scoring the first five of the quarter. A three from Mihalko would tie the game up at 26-26 with four minutes to play, followed by another three from
Lexy Ram to give the Lancers the lead. CBU outscored PLNU 20-7 in the quarter to take a 36-30 lead into halftime.
CBU’s offense continued to dominate as the Lancers began the second half with a 9-0 run, including six-straight points from
Tori Mitchell. Mihalko went back-to-back with a three-pointer and a layup, extending the lead to 52-36 with 4:13 left in the third quarter.
Both defenses tightened up in the fourth quarter, with only nine total points through five minutes, and CBU maintained its lead, 65-54. PLNU made one last push with a 16-9 run to pull within four, 74-70, but CBU iced the game at the free throw line.
Brunk led PLNU with 25 points and nine rebounds, while Mihalko led the Lancers with 22 points and eight rebounds. MVP
Kamille Diaz nearly notched the first triple-double in tournament history with 13 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds.
The NCAA Championship field will be announced on Sunday, March 5, at 7 p.m. PT, streamed live on
NCAA Live.
PacWest Women’s Basketball Championship All-Tournament Team:
MVP: Kamille Diaz (CBU)
Cassidy Mihalko (CBU)
Roya Rustamzada (Point Loma)
Alex Brunk (Point Loma)
Gabriella Fotu (Hawai’i Pacific)
Sandra Ikeora (Dominican)
-- www.thepacwest.com –