Filipa Barros has been a pass-first point guard throughout most of her career at California Baptist University.
But Barros took the lead with the Western Athletic Conference regular-season championship on the line Thursday night in Texas.
Barros, a 5-foot-9 junior from Portugal, scored 11 of a game-high 26 points in overtime, as the Lancers outlasted Abilene Christian 76-67 to secure the program’s third WAC regular-season title and the No. 1 seed for the upcoming conference tournament.
“Man, she just took over the game,” California Baptist coach Jarrod Olson said about Barros’ overtime performance. “That’s what great players do. They make us coaches look pretty good. … It was one of those games, both teams probably deserved to win. We were just lucky Filipa came out there and balled out for those last 2 minutes and took over the game. … It was awesome to watch and really fun.”
The Lancers (20-10. 14-3 in WAC) close out the regular season at home Saturday against Southern Utah at the Fowler Events Center.
Barros helped CBU win WAC regular-season and tournament titles in 2024 but missed all but two games last season because of injury.
“I was just thinking I have to win this,” said Barros, who also had a game-high 14 rebounds for the Lancers. “… This means a lot for me. Last year was probably one of the worst years for me in my whole life. I worked so much during the whole summer and during the season, and I think I deserve it and my teammates helped me so much. We’re going home tomorrow, but tonight we have to celebrate the win.”
Abilene Christian (21-9, 12-5) was clinging to a 63-60 lead in the fourth quarter, but Emma Johansson drained a 3-pointer from the wing to bring the Lancers level with 1:59 on the clock. Both teams had opportunities to win late in regulation but could not get anything to fall.
Barros actually misfired on her first three shots of the extra session, a 3-pointer and a pair of floaters in the lane.
The teams missed a combined eight shots to start overtime, but Abilene Christian’s Emma Troxell ended the drought with a layup with 3:12 on the clock. Barros drained a 3 from the corner, but Erin Woodson made two free throws for Abilene Christian.
Barros sank a 3-pointer to give CBU a 69-67 lead with 1:54 to play and knocked down her sixth 3 of the game with 30.5 seconds.
Abilene Christian forced a jump ball and gained possession with 14 seconds left. A timeout was called, but the Wildcats had none remaining, resulting in a technical foul. Barros made both free throws, and Lauren Olsen later made two more to seal the victory.
“We work so hard as a team, and we just deserve this more than anyone,” Barros said. “Abilene did a great job, but today was our day. This is great, but what matters is the WAC Tournament, so I hope we win there, too.”
The Lancers went 5-0 this season in Texas, with two wins apiece at Abilene Christian and Tarleton State and another at UT Arlington.
“We’re undefeated in Texas, and that’s never an easy thing to do,” Olson said. “We definitely did things the backwards way in the WAC. We lost a few home games, but we won a bunch of them on the road. We’ll take it any way we can get it.”
CBU advances to the semifinals of the conference tournament by virtue of winning the regular-season title. The Lancers will face Utah Valley or Tarleton on March 10 at Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nev. The winner of the conference tournament secures an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Johansson finished with 19 points and seven rebounds, and Grace Schmidt added 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the Lancers. Olsen also scored 12 points, giving CBU four players in double figures.
Payton Hull had 18 points to lead Abilene Christian, and Woodson added 15 points and 10 rebounds. Troxell nearly missed a double-double herself with nine points and 10 rebounds.
