By Benjamin Grover, January 20, 2026
Cal Poly Pomona women’s basketball bench inspired the Broncos to a 76-48 win over Cal State Monterey Bay Jan. 8, maintaining the Broncos perfect 7-0 conference record while extending their win streak to 11 games.
Faced with the challenge of missing the team’s two top point scorers, forward Sydney Nelson and Jeanette Fine, the No.1 CCAA ranked Broncos need someone to step up against No. 6 ranked CSUMB. The bench answered the call, as guards Jolleen Olia and Kadence Lloyd provided the spark for the Bronco’s offense.
Olia recorded her first multi-field goal game for the Broncos, shooting 5-9, scoring a season-high 14 points and playing a season high 22 minutes.
“We needed (Olia) to have a game like today,” head coach Danelle Bishop said. “If she’s not making those shots, the game could look different.”
Along with Olia, Lloyd also scored a season and game high 17 points in 27 minutes.
Guard Brielle Minor orchestrated the attack for the Broncos, providing a game-high eight assists along with picking up four points.
The Broncos came out of the gate strong in the first quarter, scoring 24 points with 13 coming from Lloyd, including two 3-pointers.
The story was the same for the Broncos in the second quarter scoring 22, only this time it was Olia. Olia shot 4-7 from the field, scoring 11 with a 3-pointer.
The task of getting an open shot against the Broncos was a nightmare for CSUMB in the first half. CPP held the Otters to a combined 15 points, and at times CSUMB’s only option was to heave shots from the three. The Otters only shot 3-21 from behind the arch with multiple air balls.
CSUMB also allowed 30 points off turnovers compared to the Broncos six, the Otters’ worst since losing 92-52 to University of San Francisco in an exhibition game Nov. 30 last year.
“That’s part of our standards and what we want to be known for,” Bishop said. “We always talk about when someone comes to see us what the first thing is they’re going to say, and it’s our defense.”
The Broncos ran a player-coverage defense all game, tightly marking the Otters. This reflected in the stats, seeing the Broncos come away with nine steals compared to CSUMB’s three.
Bishop said she was excited to see her defense come to life, expressing the confidence her defense has, especially when it comes to getting their hands up to block options for their opponents.
CSUMB showed some life in the second half. Led by forward Jayden McNeal and guard Aajah Slocum, the two combined for 12 points, with CSUMB tying the Broncos scoring 16-16 in the third frame and outscoring them in the fourth 17-14.
The Otters also finally saw a few shots from three starting to fall, with Slocum scoring two in the second half.
The Broncos took their feet off the gas in the second half, having half as many attempts from three than in the first half. The Broncos also saw their worst shooting performance of the game in the second, shooting 6-14 for just under 43% from the field.
However, the Bronco’s first half lead was too large for the Otters to stage any threat of a comeback.
The Broncos will now face their toughest part of the schedule yet as they look to retain their CCAA No. 1 seed. After a commanding victory against Cal State San Marcos and two straight close-margin wins against Cal State San Bernadino, the Broncos will head up north to take on Chico State and Cal Poly Humboldt.
The Broncos will play No. 3 ranked Cal Poly Humboldt Jan. 22 in first edition of the Cal Poly Clash in 2026, then head inland to take on No. 2 ranked Chico State Jan. 24.
“You can only expect us to go up from here,” Minor said. “As a team we have so many good pieces. Today showed that we can all have our moments. I think the more that we play together, the more that we gain confidence. I think we’re going to peak at the right time.”
Feature image courtesy of CPP Athletics