Women’s Basketball Team Ends Streak

By Michael Zavala

The women’s basketball team was serious about ending their
losing streak, and they got the job done in a big way at home.

“We came to play, period,” said junior Ashley Moody.

The Broncos (4-8, 3-4) defeated Cal State Stanislaus, 83-67, on
Saturday.

The victory came one night after Cal Poly’s losing streak
stretched to five games following a home loss against No. 7 Chico
State, 64-88.

Cal Poly set the pace Saturday by shooting well no matter where
its players were. The team shot 48.4 percent overall from the
field, 42.1 percent from 3-point range and 75 percent from the free
throw line.

Moody led the Broncos with a season-high 18 points and four
steals in only 21 minutes.

Junior Vanessa Dominguez had 17 points, eight rebounds and seven
steals.

Junior Ally Smith contributed 13 points and senior Rachel
Gatdula added a career-high nine points on the strength of a 3-6
night beyond the arc.

Cal Poly started quickly, scoring first on a layup by junior
Porsche’ Kirksey after she received a strong pass inside from
Dominguez.

However, Stanislaus did not back down early.

The Warriors responded with a Lysandra Williams jumper and went
toe-to-toe with the Broncos, taking a 6-4 lead with 17:06 left in
the first half.

It was the last lead Stanislaus had in the game.

Cal Poly went on a 13-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer from
sophomore Lauren Kitaguchi, and highlighted by the Broncos’ solid
play in the paint.

“We wanted to establish a post presence,” said head coach
Michelle Fortier. “[Stanislaus] is not a big team; I thought we
could use that to our advantage.”

Stanislaus attempted a comeback, coming to within seven, 23-16,
but Cal Poly went on a 9-0 run and continued to increase its lead,
going into halftime up by 17, 50-33.

The Warriors came out of the gate hungry in the second half.
Utilizing aggressive offensive and defensive play, Stanislaus
worked to cut the Bronco lead to nine, 55-46, after a Gwendolyn
Page jumper.

Then Cal Poly lit up again, taking advantage of fast break
opportunities afforded to them by the Warriors’ 16 second-half
turnovers, and built their lead as high as 27 before the final
margin of victory stood at 16.

“We did a lot better job [than last week] of moving the ball,
sharing the ball, team ball,” said Gatdula.

On Friday, though the Broncos outscored Chico State in the
second half, 47-44, erratic play in the first half allowed the
Wildcats to put together a 27-point lead going into halftime.

Cal Poly hit only five shots in the first half, shooting 17.9
percent from the field.

The team missed all four of their 3-point attempts and shot 58.3
percent from the free throw line.

The Broncos had more turnovers in the first half, 10, than they
had baskets.

“That first half was eternal,” said Fortier. “I thought we had a
lot of open looks. We had no control under the basket.”

Cal Poly also had foul trouble all night. Smith fouled out with
6:28 left in the game, while Moody, Kirksey and sophomore Natasha
Reed each had four fouls.

Kirksey led the Broncos with 13 points on 6-9 shooting to go
along with seven rebounds. Dominguez had nine points and five
rebounds.

Moody contributed nine points and six assists, while freshman
Jessica Hopkins scored eight points. Both players scored all of
their points in the second half.

Chico State’s Amber Simmons led all scorers with 25 points and
11 rebounds.

Chico State wasted no time getting started, going on a 10-0 run
to begin the game.

The Broncos cut the lead to five, 12-7, but Chico State then
went on a 14-0 run to stretch its lead to 19. During the two runs,
Cal Poly was held scoreless for 8:03.

The Wildcats continued to dominate, widening the gap to 27
before the half.

But even with the game out of reach, Cal Poly didn’t hand over
the game.

‘ The Broncos and the Wildcats traded baskets to begin the
second half. Chico State continued the pressure, slowly raising its
lead to 35 with 5:33 left in the game.

From there, Cal Poly went on a 9-0 run that ended with a Kirksey
layup. After Chico State lifted its lead to 33, the Broncos went on
another 9-0 run to end the game and reduce the Warriors’ victory to
24.

Though the loss hurt, Fortier was pleased with how hard the team
fought down the stretch, and she knew they would be able to carry
that momentum to the game against Stanislaus.

In fact, that momentum helped Cal Poly reach one of its
season-long goals Saturday: The team had fewer than 15 turnovers
and had more assists than turnovers, 18-14.

Achieving their goal paid off immediately for the Broncos.

“They get Monday off,” said Fortier with a smile.

The Broncos will return to the court on the road Friday at Cal
State Dominguez Hills and Saturday at UC San Diego.

Michael Zavala can be reached by e-mail at
sports@thepolypost.com or by phone at (909) 869-4630.

Women’s Basketball Team Ends Streak