By Jacob Rodriguez, Feb. 18, 2025
Cal Poly Pomona women’s basketball team pulled out a tight 59-58 victory over Cal State L.A. Feb. 6 before succumbing to undefeated Cal State Dominguez Hills on the road Feb. 8, improving their conference record to 13-3.
The Broncos’ game against Cal State LA marked head coach Danelle Bishop’s 203rd win in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, breaking the all-time winningest conference record, passing Renee Jimenez (202).
“It’s definitely an honor, and I’m very humbled to have the opportunity to be a part of that category,” Bishop said.
The Broncos had a slow start, despite scoring early within the first two minutes of play. The Broncos’ offense stalled as they faced an early 6-2 deficit for the next three minutes of play.
Junior guard Aaliyah Wright narrowed the gap with a 3-pointer, cutting the Golden Eagles lead to 1 point. The Golden Eagles responded with a 3-pointer of their own, followed by a jumper to increase their lead to 11-5.
The Broncos rallied late at the end of the first quarter when senior guard Cookie Marques hit a free throw, followed by sophomore center Khamiyah Anderson driving down into the paint and setting up a jumper to cut the Golden Eagles down 11-8.
The Broncos wasted no time setting the tone in the second quarter when sophomore guard Brielle Minor inbounded the ball to sophomore forward Sydney Nelson, who set up a jumper to bring them closer 11-10.
Both teams traded points through the next eight minutes of play, preventing each other from pulling away with a lead. CPP shot 4-16 from the field compared to the Golden Eagles’ 4-12 from the field, and Nelson scored 10 of the Broncos’ 11 points.
Despite the Broncos’ defense holding the Golden Eagles to 11 points once again, the Broncos were down 22-19 at halftime. Nelson highlighted the team’s determination not to let this game slip away.
“Having our whole team on the same page and putting up a fight, whoever was playing, how many minutes you played, didn’t matter,” Nelson said. “We all wanted the same goal and just being relentless.”
The Broncos scored within the first minute as Nelson drove down the court on a fast break and hit a jumper, followed by a layup by Marques that cut the deficit 24-23.
The two teams traded points over the next four minutes, each going on an 8-8 run. The game reached a stalemate at 32-32 with 4:45 minutes left in the third quarter.
Nelson continued her dominant performance, scoring a career-high 34 points and helping the Broncos outscore the Golden Eagles 22-15 to seize a 41-37 lead by the end of the third quarter.
“It was rough in the beginning; I wasn’t getting the shots I usually wanted to take,” Nelson said. “I came in after halftime with a different mindset that I’m going to put everything all on the floor, win or lose. I’m going to make sure I play hard today.”
The Golden Eagles regained the lead in the fourth quarter, going on a 7-0 run within the first three minutes, making the score 45-41.
The Broncos’ first points came after Anderson nailed a jumper to kickstart scoring on offense. Senior guard Kalaya Buggs and Nelson each scored layups further chipping away at the deficit 53-47.
Despite the Golden Eagles shooting 7-8 from the free throw line, the Broncos continued to lessen the deficit with a pair of layups from Nelson, and sophomore forward Mydrea Moore and Marques’ two free throws set up a tie 58-58 with two seconds remaining.
Minor threw in the ball to Nelson breaking through two defenders to bank a layup, giving the Broncos a 59-58 victory over Cal State LA.
Following the win, the Broncos traveled on the road to face the undefeated Cal State Dominguez Hills.
The Broncos got off to a slow start against the Toros, facing an early three-point deficit. The team’s first points came four minutes into the first quarter after Anderson collected a rebound, setting up a layup to put the Broncos on the board 3-2.
Despite Minor sinking three free throws, the Broncos were outscored 14-5. CPP shot 1-13 from the field, compared to the Toros’ 5-21.
“We struggled scoring and taking care of the ball,” Bishop said. “We also struggled with rebounding, and you can’t do that against a physical undefeated team.”
The Broncos’ offense found their rhythm when senior guard Breanne Ha drove down the paint to set up a jumper. Nelson followed with a layup off a fastbreak, and a 3-pointer from Minor weakened the deficit as the Broncos went on a 10-2 run through four minutes, making the score 16-14.
Minor collected 16 points off the bench, while Anderson contributed 8 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
Both teams traded points through the last three minutes of play. The Broncos edged out the Toros 23-13 at the end of the half, with Anderson tipping the ball in right before the quarter ended to give the Broncos a 28-27 lead.
Despite the Broncos’ comeback in the first half, the struggles on both sides of the ball returned in the third quarter, with the Toros going on a 23-0 run through eight minutes of play.
The Broncos’ offense struggled to maintain possession as they gave up 23 points off turnovers and struggled in the paint shooting 0-11 compared to the Toros shooting 7-18.
The Broncos did not reach the net until Buggs sank a free throw to give the team some life with 1:56 left in the third quarter. Nelson and Buggs combined 4-6 from the free-throw line, and the Broncos faced a 52-32 deficit.
Minor highlighted their struggles on defense, with the Broncos collecting 39 rebounds compared to the Toros’ 52 rebounds.
“On the defensive end, we struggled with physicality on the inside,” Minor said. “We gave up a lot of second chance shots, so I think that was the biggest thing.”
In the fourth quarter, the Broncos attempted to make a comeback as their offense went on a 36-26 run and saw the Broncos shoot 10-18 from the field compared to the Toros 7-13. However, the deficit proved too large to overcome as the Toros maintained a 78-68 lead to defeat the Broncos.
Feature image courtesy of Christian Magdaleno
