By Benjamin Grover, February 3, 2026
The Cal Poly Pomona women’s basketball team reclaimed the No.1 seed Jan. 24 after beating Chico State 62-59 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association Game of the Week.
Chico State was the only undefeated team in the CCAA, but with the team’s second-leading scorer forward Meadow Aragon out with an injury, the Broncos, including junior forward Sydney Nelson, saw an opportunity. Nelson scored 22 points against the Wildcats, making it her third consecutive game with 20 or more points.
The Broncos had three more players reach double figure points: redshirt junior guard Andrea Stajic, junior forward Mydrea Moore and junior guard Brielle Minor, who all recorded 10.
“When you get a lot of different players contributing, it makes it hard to just focus on one,” said head coach Danelle Bishop. “It just makes it really hard to defend us.”
Redshirt sophomore forward Hunter Hudson also had a tremendous game on the boards for the Broncos, setting team season high with 16 rebounds plus six points and two steals.
Bishop said the Wildcats play a very fast paced game, so the Broncos gameplan was to come out fast to control the tempo. Led by Moore, the Broncos capitalized on that strategy and took a commanding 6-0 lead to start off the game. Nelson continued it, closing out the quarter with two jumpers and giving the Broncos a 14-6 lead to end the first.
The Wildcats found their footing in the second quarter. Sophomore guard Kamil Reid quickly scored six points to help bring the Wildcats within reach of the Broncos, eventually taking a 25-23 lead with a three-pointer from senior guard Kaylie Edge.
Then, Minor showed up.
After a jumper from Moore to tie the game at 25 with just over two minutes left in the half, Minor hit back-to-back three pointers to strengthen the Broncos’ lead 31-27 into halftime.
The Broncos extended their lead multiple times during the third quarter, with the Broncos taking as much as a nine-point lead in the closing stages of the quarter after a Stajic 3-pointer.
CPP couldn’t extend its lead past double digits, as the Broncos went into the fourth quarter after a Nelson jumper set the score at 47-40. However, the Broncos were finally able to pull away from the Wildcats in the fourth quarter and extend their lead to 10.
After a layup from Nelson in the paint, the Broncos took a 55-45 lead with 6:42 left in the game. But the Wildcats responded, battling back with a 14-3 run capped off by a 3-pointer from senior forward Madison Parry to take the lead from the Broncos 59-58 with 2:22 left in the game.
But that wasn’t the end of the story. Nelson scored an and-1 jumper to put the Broncos in the lead 60-59 with 01:32 left on the clock.
“(Sydney’s) a stud,” Bishop said. “She probably could’ve gone to the foul line every time that game. … She did a good job of finishing shots through contact.”
While Nelson missed her free-throw, Moore rebounded her shot and was then fouled. Moore scored both free throws to give the Broncos the win 62-59.
“I think getting Chico after the Humboldt loss was big for not only the team’s morale, but the mental side of the game,” Bishop said. “Them just knowing they’re able to be resilient and bounce back is hard for a team to do.”
Feature image courtesy of CPP Athletics
