RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Keilanei Cooper sank a free throw with 22 seconds remaining to get within one possession but her three-pointer was no good as time expired to leave UC Riverside defeated in the Crosstown Showdown Tuesday night against Cal Baptists, 62-59 ,in SRC Arena.
 
Cooper scored 17 points while Daphne Gnago pulled down 17 rebounds to lead the Highlanders (1-1, 0-0 Big West), who led the visiting Lancers (1-0, 0-0 WAC) by as many as nine points in the first quarter before trailing at the break, 32-28.
 
Olivia West grabbed back the lead for UCR with her trey in the third quarter to make it 41-40 as UCR went on an 11-2 run, but the CBU got a one-point lead back to end the third and UCR could not retake the lead again the rest of the way. Caitlyn Harper had 20 points to lead the Lancers.
 
The Highlanders entered Tuesday night's meeting with a  14-4 all-time series lead over the Lancers but were looking to turn the tide having lost two of their last three to CBU, including a split in 2019-20 and a loss in their last meeting on Dec. 5, 2020, in UCR's season opener.
 
Next up, the Highlanders head to the University of the Pacific for a 1 p.m. tipoff on Saturday, Nov. 13, before UCR returns to SRC Arena to host Cal Lutheran Tuesday, Nov. 16, at 1 p.m.