Cal Baptist blasts Point Loma in regional semis

ANCHORAGE – Junior center Darsha Burnside posted a double-double to power a dominating effort by Cal Baptist on Saturday as the Lancers cruised to a 73-46 victory over Point Loma in the NCAA Div. II West Regional Women's Basketball Championships semifinals at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The Lancers (26-6) – making their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance – move on to Monday night's 7 p.m. ADT regional final to play another 'Inland Empire' school in 7th-seeded Cal Poly Pomona (21-8). Cal Baptist is located in Riverside, Calif., just a 28-mile drive down Highway 60 from Pomona.

Burnside finished with 12 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks, while sophomore guard Courtney Nelson had 14 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals.

The Sea Lions (20-12) – coming off a stunning upset of nationally top-ranked Alaska Anchorage on Friday night – were led by 14 points and eight rebounds from freshman forward Roya Rustamzada.

The league rivals were meeting for the fourth time this season, with CBU having won two of the first three meetings, including a 73-71 victory in last week's Pacific West Conference semifinals. Saturday's rematch was less of a contest as the Lancers outscored the Sea Lions 14-2 in the opening seven minutes and eased to a 43-15 edge at halftime. CBU guard Kamille Diaz finished with 14 points and six assists, and she capped the first half in style with a fade-away three-pointer at the buzzer.

The game never got closer in the second half, with the Lancers expanding their lead as high as 61-22 with 11:19 remaining.

Sophomore guard Cassidy Mihalko added 13 points and three assists for CBU.

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