Olson’s 17 send Cal Baptist women to WAC title with 74-58 win over Abilene Christian

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Lauren Olson scored 17 points and had three steals as top-seeded Cal Baptist defeated Abilene Christian 74-58 to secure their second Western Athletic Conference championship in the past three seasons.

The Lancers (23-10) punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament shooting 44% from the field while holding Abilene Christian to 31%.

Emma Johansson added 15 points (6-for-10 shooting) before fouling out late, Khloe Lemon had 13, and Shawnee Nordstrom scored 12. Filipa Barros scored eight points, grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds, and distributed 11 assists.

Erin Woodson paced the Wildcats (22-10) with 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting. Emma Troxell had 12 points and a team-high 12 rebounds, and Payton Hull scored 10.

Cal Baptist has won three WAC titles, but their 2021 title did not come with the conference’s automatic bid as they made the transition to Division I from Division II. They made their first DI tournament appearance in 2024 as a No. 15 seed, losing 84-55 to 2nd-seeded UCLA in the first round.

The Lancers are departing the WAC for the Big West effective July 1st.

Cal Baptist awaits seeding for the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, which will be revealed on Sunday. The tournament tips off with the First Four on Wednesday and Thursday, and the first round begins Friday.

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