By Isabella Gerardo and Ashanti Velez, February 10, 2026
The Cal Poly Pomona women’s basketball team forced a late turnaround balancing the score and taking the lead in the fourth quarter 82-67 with a victory against Cal State East Bay Jan. 29, securing first place in the conference with a 12-1 record and a 17-2 standing record in the overall season.
Forward Sydney Nelson stayed unstoppable, recording 25 points with her fourth straight game, 25 points, seven rebounds, and an assist. Guard Andrea Stajic backed her with 14 points, four rebounds, and one assist.
CPP opened the first quarter slowly, as Nelson controlled the tip but was cut off by East Bay straight to the rim. The Pioneers continued aggressive, but guard Brielle Minor shifted the tide when she found Nelson, who took it off the backboard into the net for CPP’s first points 8-2.
“They came out hot, but that’s something that we’ve worked really hard on this season, to stay composed and to stay poised,” Stajic said. “It’s just us looking at each other, taking a deep breath, and finding a group that can step up, and that’s playing well together. Sometimes it takes a few minutes, but luckily, we were able to keep going and just stay poised.”
The Broncos took a two-point lead 12-10 against the Pioneers with two minutes left on the clock in the first quarter after a pull up jumper by Nelson.
Guard Hailey Estrada had a turnover that led to a layup with 30 seconds remaining in the first, but Hudson quickly answered with a shot from the paint with six seconds left, allowing the Broncos to lead the Pioneers 14-13.
“Our bench is an important part of the game,” Nelson said. “We’re always loud. We’re always cheering. No matter what the play was, it’s always goldfish mentality. Our togetherness shows on the court.”
The second quarter opened with energy from both sides of the floor. Pioneer guard Taylor Eldredge knocked down a right-corner jumper giving her team a lead. But the Broncos wasted no time picking up, with Stajic attacking the rim and finishing with a strong layup straight through the court, trading a one-point lead throughout four buckets.
Eldredge shifted the momentum for the Pioneers three minutes into the quarter with a spinning layup, dropping the Broncos down by 10 points. Despite trailing most of the quarter, the Broncos finished strong with a shot by forward Mydrea Moore 34-27.
“I think we had to stick together,” head coach Danelle Bishop said. “Sticking together and trying to find that group of five that we‘re clicking, especially on the defensive end. Once we found that five, you saw our offense just flowing, and that’s when we went ahead with that lead.”
Guard Jolleen Olia pushed the ball out of the backcourt, splitting the defense and finding Woodson into the net to help CPP. Soon after Olia hit down two free throws, and Stajic followed with a strong jump step and layup to cut the deficit to three.
After a second-chance layup from Moore, the Broncos trailed the Pioneers going into halftime 36-35.
East Bay guard Lucca Lowenberg opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer within seconds. Hudson responded with an offensive rebound after Minor missed, and Hudson finished the shot tying with a 40-40.
“We didn’t come out with the urgency we wanted, but we just kind of kept at it,” Bishop said. “We knew at some point our game was going to come around, and I think we eventually saw that. That’s what I love about this team, sticking together and keep on working.”
Stajic turned right midway through the third quarter and dropped a shot into the net to help the Broncos regain the lead 46-45. Their momentum continued after another back-and-forth moment, and Nelson made a free throw to close out the third quarter in a three-point advantage.
Moore extended their lead at the top of the fourth quarter by scoring underneath the basket. It didn’t take long after for the Broncos to take full control after that, going up by eight points just two minutes into the quarter 60-52.
The Broncos continued to build an 18-point advantage after Stajic stole the ball from the Pioneers straight to the rim for a lay-up. Guard Nivea Campbell added East Bay’s final jumper with five seconds remaining, but CPP closed out the game with an 82-67 victory.
The win marks CPP’s season high in points, surpassing their previous high of 81 in a win against Cal State San Marcos.
“We never try to take our foot off the gas, and we just slowly chip away at the end,” Nelson said. “Going into the fourth quarter with the lead helped our composure. We didn’t feel like we had to rush as much, or we weren’t as frantic, and it shouldn’t take that long to do so. We got the win., I think that’s what’s important, and we’ll learn from this for future games.”
Feature image courtesy of CPP Athletics