By Jacob Rodriguez, March 25, 2025
Cal Poly Pomona women’s basketball team fell short in the first game of the 2025 NCAA Tournament March 14 against the No. 7 Chico State Wildcats 57-52, concluding its season with a 25-6 overall record.
Although the Broncos found themselves down by 7 points in the fourth quarter, they rallied back, pushing the game into overtime. However, it wasn’t enough as Chico State drained the clock to solidify the Wildcats’ win, leading to an abrupt end to the Broncos’ season.
“I thought we battled,” Broncos head coach Danelle Bishop said. “We got down like we have all season and battled back in part by (forward Sydney Nelson) having a great first half, and we battled all the way down.”
Nelson recorded 12 points and six rebounds in the first half, but the Wildcats jumped out to an early lead, going on a 6-0 run within the game’s first two minutes. Despite Nelson hitting two free throws at 7:15, the Broncos continued to struggle offensively as they shot 20% from the field and ended the first quarter down 18-8.
The Broncos wasted no time setting the tone in the second quarter. Nelson hit a jumper, then senior guard Cookie Marques sunk a free throw to cut the Wildcat’s lead 18-11.
Nelson continued to lead the charge, generating two more jumpers and slowly chipping away at the deficit despite the Broncos’ momentum stalling through the next two minutes of play. Nelson sank another jumper to lessen the gap 20-17 with four minutes left in the second quarter.
Chico State found some rhythm on offense in the final minutes of the second quarter, with a jumper from guard Kaila Woo sparked an 8-2 run to seize a 28-19 lead at halftime.
Entering the third quarter, both teams traded points as guard Kalaya Buggs hit two free throws and the Wildcats responded with a pair of their own.
Guard Breanne Ha kept the ball rolling, banking in a 3-pointer to bring the Broncos closer 30-24. But the Wildcats forced the Broncos into foul trouble and continued to widen the gap.
The Broncos’ defense shined as they forced the Wildcats into four turnovers, protecting the paint and forcing more contested shots.
“We just try to focus on what we’ve done all year, and that is defense and getting stops,” Bishop said. “They (Chico State) averages almost 78 points a game. They had 57, we only had 52, and we averaged more than that. We just couldn’t put the ball in at times where we needed, particularly in the first half.”
Sophomore guard Brielle Minor opened the scoring for the Broncos when she drove down the lane to hit a layup, which was followed by a hook shot from Nelson to cut the lead 37-30 with three minutes left of the third quarter.
Nelson, who finished with a 20-point performance, highlighted the adjustments made to ensure the team’s second-half success. She also emphasized the importance of playing for each other and putting everything on the floor.
“It was kind of like the (California Collegiate Athletics Association Tournament),” Nelson said. “We knew that we were down early, and during halftime, we had to fix it. We took notes from that game and applied it. We came out in that third quarter, and we put up a fight and made the adjustments.”
Despite the Broncos outscoring the Wildcats 14-12, the Broncos still trailed 40-33.
Minor kickstarted the fourth quarter, stealing the ball from Wildcats guard Jadence Clifton and driving into the paint to set up a layup.
Momentum stalled for the next two minutes until the 6:55 mark when Nelson made two jumpers.
Both teams traded points for the next three minutes, with the Broncos slowly chipping away at the Wildcats’ lead. Sophomore forward Mydrea Moore hit a midrange jumper to trim the Wildcats’ lead to 44-41.
Ha kept the ball rolling with a jumper and buried a 3-pointer to tie the game, shifting momentum into the Broncos’ favor. Minor paved the way for the Broncos to take a 48-46 lead off a layup with three minutes left.
Despite the Bronco’s best efforts to hold on to the 2-point lead, the Wildcats’ most prolific offensive player, guard Jordan Allred, sent the game into overtime with a score of 48-48.
Nelson highlighted the team’s mentality heading into overtime. The Broncos looked to overcome the odds, similar to their last matchup.
“We treated it like a whole other game, like the score is back from zero to zero,” Nelson said. “We knew that we fought all the way until that 40 was up, so we needed to keep fighting for that last five, fight for each other, fight for our seniors, and to leave it all out on the floor.”
Minor drove down into the paint to make a layup to give the Broncos an early 50-48 lead in overtime.
Both teams struggled to find the basket throughout the next three minutes of play until Wildcats forward Meadow Argon hit a jumper to tie things up. The Broncos quickly responded when Nelson drove into the paint and buried a layup to give the Broncos a 52-50 lead.
However, the tides changed when the Broncos ran into foul trouble during the last minute of the game, which saw Chico State hit 83% of its free throws in overtime to steal the 57-52 victory.
With the season complete, the Broncos reflected on a journey filled with accomplishments and adversity as they look to build upon their success for next season.
“All we focused on after the game was just the accomplishments that this team has had, I think more importantly the sisterhood,” Bishop said. “Those are the things they’re going to remember for a lifetime. We try to focus on our culture, and we win with class and lose with class, and so I was really proud of our team. We had a lot of adversity all year, and we tried to focus on that.”
Feature image courtesy of Christian Magdaleno
