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California Baptist women’s basketball team muscles past UC Riverside in ‘Crosstown Showdown’ – San Bernardino Sun

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RIVERSIDE — Pace and finesse have been staples of the California Baptist University women’s basketball program in recent years.

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California Baptist University’s Filipa Barros dribbles between UC Riverside’s  Makayla Minshall and  Aaliyah Stanton in a nonconference women’s basketball game on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)

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However, in Monday night’s season opener against UC Riverside, the Lancers also showed they can use a more physical approach in winning games.

Emma Johansson and Filipa Barros combined for 38 rebounds, while Johansson registered seven of the team’s 10 blocked shots, as the Lancers muscled their way to a 56-53 home victory in the first “Crosstown Showdown” between Riverside’s two Division I women’s basketball programs since 2021.

Johansson, a 6-foot-3 forward from Sweden, scored eight points and her 20 rebounds matched the program’s single-game Division I record shared by Dorcas Wu (vs. Western Kentucky, 2022) and Britney Thomas (vs. UCR in 2022). Barros, a 5-9 point guard from Portugal, scored 13 points to go along with 18 rebounds, six steals and three assists. California Baptist outrebounded UC Riverside 60-47, including 18-9 at the offensive end.

“We’ve been emphasizing defensive rebounding because we’re a little bit smaller” Lancers coach Jarrod Olson said. “This was just a tough game and both teams were pretty physical and getting after it. Honestly, we made a couple plays near the end and were fortunate to come out on top.

“… I thought it was just a great basketball game and think a lot of people enjoyed coming to watch. It’s really nice to be back playing UCR again.”

Next season, California Baptist will join UC Riverside in the Big West Conference, so there will be two “Crosstown Showdowns” every season.

“It’s always great when you play your local rival,” UC Riverside coach Brad Langston said. “It was good to bring the excitement back to the city.”

CBU played Monday’s season opener without veterans Grace Schmidt and Khloe Lemon, but both are expected to be back in the lineup in the near future.

Both teams displayed some offensive rust, which is to be expected from a season opener. CBU made only 17  of 69 shots from the field (24.6 %), while UCR was only slightly better with its 19-for-65 shooting (29.2).

“We knew defensive rebounding was going to be a key tonight, and I think we showed how much we have worked on that,” Johansson said.

While the Lancers were short-handed Monday, they did welcome back Barros, who suffered a season-ending injury in the second game last year.

“Last year was a very tough year,” Barros said. “I’m just so happy to be back and playing again with my teammates. It really means a lot to me.”

UCR led for a majority of the opening half, and the Highlanders used an 8-1 run late in the second period to take a 29-25 lead at halftime break.

The game remained tight through the second half, and the score was tied at 39 entering the final quarter. Chance Bucher sank a 3-pointer to put the Lancers up 52-45 with 3:17 remaining, but UCR answered back with Kaylani Polk hitting to 3-pointer to cap a 7-0 run that leveled the score.

Olson called a timeout with 40 seconds showing on the clock. Barros used a screen from Johansson to make a layup to put CBU back in front.

“What we got out of it was exactly what we were going for,” Olson said about that decisive play in the final minute.

Shelley Duchemin made a free throw at the other end to halve the deficit, but her second attempt clanged off the rim and Barros collected the rebound and sank two from at line to extend the lead. UCR had a chance to force overtime but could got get a shot to fall in the final seconds.

Bucher, a transfer from Division II Eckerd College, had a stellar debut, hitting four 3-pointers and scoring a game-high 22 points for the Lancers.

“This is my last year (of college basketball), so I’m not holding back in any way,” Bucher said. “I think trusting each other helped us win tonight.”

Polk scored a career-high 15 points off the bench to lead the way for UCR. Seneca Hackly added 12 points and four assists for the Highlanders.

“I thought we had good moments of execution in the first half. I think we just ran out of gas a little late in the game, and that’s going to happen in game one,” Langston said. “But making nine 3s and shooting 36% percent from (3-point range) was a positive and something we can build on.”

CBU MEN OPEN WITH WIN OVER USC UPSTATE

Dominique Daniels Jr. played the role of facilitator for the California Baptist men’s basketball team for much of the first half Monday night.

But when the walls started to close in on the Lancers in the second half, Daniels showed why he is one of the region’s most exciting players.

Daniels scored a game-high 23 points — including a crucial 3-pointer and layup to make sure the lead didn’t slip away  — as California Baptist opened its season with an 87-75 victory over USC Upstate. Daniels scored 15 of those points after halftime.

“With Dominique, before you even get to the physical talents, it’s his belief. You saw that show up late. He wanted the ball,” Lancers coach  Rick Croy said. “One thing he has added is making others better. And he’s trusting his teammates and doing those things at a high level.”

CBU had an extremely efficient offensive performance, as Lancers made 34 of 64 shots from the field (53.1 %) and only turned the ball over seven times during the game. It was a balanced scoring attack overall, as four other players joined Daniels in double figures: Thomas Ndong (14 points), Martel Williams (12 points), Miles Daniels (11 points) and Jayden Jackson (10 points). Jonathan Griman finished with nine more.

“It’s pretty difficult to put together a clean 40 minutes the first time out,” Croy said. :There were some choppy stretches, but overall I thought we took care of the ball and overall I thought our shot selection was good…. It’s a long season and it’s going to take everyone contributing.”

CBU led by as many as 19 points (51-32 and 56-37) in the second half, but USC Upstate cut the deficit to 65-60 with 7:13 left in the game.

Daniels hit a step-back 3-pointer to start the final push, and his layup with 2 1/2 minutes remaining extended the Lancers’ lead to 13 points.

“I think my guys trust me to step up and take over the game when it’s needed,” Daniels said. “And at that moment, we really needed that.”

Karmani Gregory scored 22 points to lead the way for USC Upstate, and Learic Davis added 15 points for the Spartans.



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