Women’s basketball overcame a slow start and pulled away with a win Thursday night as Cal Poly Pomona defeated Sonoma State 58-50. The win helps the Broncos improve their record to 15-2 and also extends their winning streak to eight games.
During the first three quarters, CPP’s defensive efforts forced Sonoma State to turn the ball over 18 times, but CPP’s change in the scheme in the fourth quarter helped the team contain Sonoma State to score only four points.
“We were playing a little bit more man(-to-man) most of the game and we switched it up, went to one of our zones at the end and I think that kind of rattled them and bothered them,” head coach Danelle Bishop said. “They got out of their comfort zone and weren’t able to run the stuff they were kind of running a little bit smoother. I was really proud of our team just for stepping up.
“Typically we play a little more zone but with them, their zone offense sort of bothered us a little bit so we decided to go into man but yeah, I think just switching it up at the end really bothered them.”
Senior guard Jordyn Shane had a double-double in the game. She led the team in scoring and rebounds with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
“I think for me just being a threat, I really wanted to focus on picking everybody else out, making sure that everybody else is confident,” Shane said. “I think sometimes when I play confident I think that boosts everybody else’s confidence. I think that after my injury a couple weeks ago, I’ve been wanting to boost my performance and I think today you know I had a nice talk with the assistant coach. What helped me was focusing on my teammates so that everything else kind of came naturally.”
Early in the first quarter, the Broncos got into trouble as the Seawolves took advantage of their height and took the lead. Even though the Broncos forced them to turn the ball over, they could not contain their physical post players down low.
Despite the Seawolves’ size advantage in the paint, the Broncos continued driving into the paint and scoring on fast breaks.
As the half was coming to an end with four seconds on the clock, junior forward Rebecca Islas drove to the paint and got fouled, which she then turned into two good free-throws that took them into the half down 31-28.
Islas was one of three Broncos with double figures, scoring 11 points and also contributing with 12 rebounds.
“I was not as consistent from the field goal, but from the 3-point line I was satisfied with my performance,” Islas said. “We’re a team that runs so I think our strength is in running in fast breaks but shots aren’t always going to fall so I mean it wasn’t that bad.”
In the second half, the Broncos came out fast with a 4-0 run that pulled them within one point of the Seawolves, after two made free throws from Shane and a jumper from junior forward Kasey Smit.
For the remainder of the game, both teams continued to go at each other until the fourth quarter. With 3:17 on the clock, the Broncos finally took the lead 50-48 when junior guard Dominique Dotson made a three-pointer.
The Broncos’ defense in the fourth quarter was crucial, only allowing the Seawolves to score four points, which helped them take their biggest lead of the game and pull out the win, 58-50.
On Saturday afternoon the Broncos pushed their winning streak to nine games as they defeated San Francisco State 71-62.
Junior guard Dotson had another dominant performance as she scored 18 points, five rebounds, and two assists.
Late threes by junior guard Mylah Andrada and Smit help the Broncos pull away from the Gators to secure the victory.
Junior forward Monica Todd contributed with a double-double as she scored 13 points and gathered 11 rebounds.
With just nine games left in the season, the Broncos will look to extend their winning streak as they take on Cal State Monterey Bay Thursday evening and Cal State East Bay Saturday afternoon.