CBU women’s basketball team closes out regular season by beating Southern Utah

Chance Bucher scored 19 points Saturday afternoon for the Lancers, who head to the WAC Tournament as the No. 1-seeded team.

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Mar 8, 2026 - 01:48
CBU women’s basketball team closes out regular season by beating Southern Utah

RIVERSIDE — The California Baptist University women’s basketball team took a victory lap Saturday afternoon.

  • California Baptist Lancers guard Chance Bucher (10) celebrates her three...
    California Baptist Lancers guard Chance Bucher (10) celebrates her three point shoot against Southern Utah Thunderbirds in the Western Athletic Conference women’s basketball regular-season finale in Riverside on Saturday, March 7, 2026. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
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California Baptist Lancers guard Chance Bucher (10) celebrates her three point shoot against Southern Utah Thunderbirds in the Western Athletic Conference women’s basketball regular-season finale in Riverside on Saturday, March 7, 2026. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
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The Lancers clinched the Western Athletic Conference’s regular-season championship Thursday at Abilene Christian. So Saturday’s game primarily served as the final tune-up before the upcoming WAC Tournament.

Chance Bucher made her first start in nearly three months and scored a team-high 19 points as California Baptist capped the program’s third WAC regular-season title with a 77-61 victory over Southern Utah at the Fowler Events Center.

CBU (21-10 overall, 15-3 in WAC) never trailed Saturday and held a lead for all but the first 24 seconds of the contest. The Lancers shot 55.9 % from the field in the opening half and led by as many as 24 points midway through the fourth period.

“I think the thing I will remember most about this team is they never quit,” CBU coach Jarrod Olson said. “I felt like we had it in us at the beginning of the year, and then suddenly around Christmastime, we didn’t have it at all.”

Olson was referring to a six-game losing streak to close out nonconference play. But the Lancers bounced back and impressively went 9-0 in conference road games to secure the championship.

“We were so far down at one point, but credit to these girls for sticking together and rallying back from adversity,” Olson said. “That’s one of the reason we love to play sports, right?”

Bucher played at Portland for two years and then starred at Division II Eckeed College in Florida the previous two seasons. The graduate student from Half Moon Bay had one season of eligibility left and decided to come back to California.

She scored 22 points in the season-opener but eventually fell out of the main rotation in mid-December. Bucher got the start Saturday on Senior Night and did not hold back.

Bucher scored the first seven points of the game and then sank a pair of 3-pointers in the third period to extend CBU’s lead to 16.

“Chance got us off to a great start and was really inspiring for everyone else,” Olson said. “We followed her lead. I’m really proud of her.

“It’s hard playing on a good team, because there’s not enough food to go around to feed everyone,” Olson continued. “But I’ll give Chance a lot of credit. She has handled it as well as anyone I’ve seen. We told her she was going to play a lot today, and she didn’t blink.”

Lauren Olsen and Filipa Barros each drained a 3-pointer in the final minute of the opening period to stake CBU to a 26-16 advantage.

The Lancers made their final four shots of the first quarter, and then went 5 for 5 from the field to close out the second period.

“Those streaks are random, but it’s always nice to finish a quarter strong,” Olson said.

Ava Uhrich had game-highs of 22 points and 15 rebounds, but Southern Utah (19-11, 11-7) got no closer than 12 points in the second half.

Barros, who was the star of CBU’s overtime win at Abilene Christian, finished Saturday’s game with 12 points and 12 rebounds, her 14th double-double of the season.

Seniors Grace Schmidt and Emma Johansson were honored alongside Bucher after the game. Schmidt had six points, six rebounds and five assists, while Johansson finished with seven points.

CBU is the No. 1 seed for the WAC Tournament and has a bye through to the semifinals. The Lancers will face Utah Valley or Tartleton State on Friday at Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada.

“It’s not too complicated,” Olson said. “When we rebound the ball well and make shots, good things happen for us.”

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