By Gabby Roscuata, February 17, 2026
Cal Poly Pomona women’s basketball team defeated Cal State San Marcos Feb. 5 at The Sports Center in San Marcos, California, retaining its No. 1 seed after a final score of 77-56, with an aggressive defense and speedy offense that gradually dominated the game.
The Broncos now hold a 19-2 overall record with a 14-1 conference record, compared to Cougars’ 7-13 overall and 4-11 conference record.
Junior guard Brielle Minor started the momentum for the Broncos with a block that caused CSUSM junior guard Tatum Tamashiro to miss a 3-pointer after tip off initially gave possession to the Cougars. CPP junior guard Andrea Stajic stole the ball and changed the turnover into a 4-2 lead with a fastbreak layup in the second minute of the first quarter.
“Our backline was really anticipating and reading it well,” head coach Danelle Bishop said. The first quarter had four defensive rebounds from sophomore guard Hunter Hudson and senior guard Alexis Woodsonthat were converted into nine points.
After some back-and-forth between both teams, the Broncos pushed through the end of the first quarter with an 18-10 lead. Five points came in the last minute from a layup and free throw by Hudson and a jumper from Stajic.
The second quarter continued the clash between CPP and CSUSM for control of the game. The Broncos created an eight-point lead with five minutes left until the Cougars closed the gap. A jumper from CSUSMfreshman forward Kaity Haan and a 3-pointer from CSUSM junior forward Kat Noa tightened the gap to three points.
However, CPP freshman guard Kadence Lloyd scored a 3-pointer right back, reaffirming the lead back to six points for the Broncos. The score was 35-29 going into halftime.
“Focusing on the offensive end, (we got) our points in transition because that’s where a lot of our points come from,” junior forward Sydney Nelson said. “We get a defensive stop and then we push the ball and then we run the floor.”
Starting the third quarter, the game was still open for the lead to change with only a six-point difference, but by halfway into the quarter, Hudson scored eight points and Nelson scored seven, allowing the gap to widen again, this time into double figures.
“When we play our best defense, we get better offense,” Minor said. “All of our defense turns to offense, so I think that in the locker room the main thing we focus on is our defense, and it worked out.”
The Broncos continued their trend of powerful third quarters, having outscored their opponents during the third in the past eight games. They scored 25 points in a 15-0 scoring run that lasted six minutes.
The Cougars suffered from two fouls in the last two minutes of the quarter, one by Noa at 2:02 which resulted in two free-throw points from junior forward Mydrea Moore. The second foul was by freshman guard Portia Polo at 1:52, which Minor then closed out the third with a layup and two points from her own free throws, giving CPP an 18-point lead to end the quarter.
The Broncos took charge of the final quarter and fortified their lead with eight total layups, compared to CSUSM’s five total, each team missing twice. It peaked at a 26-point lead from a layup by junior centerKhamiyah Anderson in the last two minutes.
“When we’re playing really good defense, and if we get a steal, we’re taking off and usually, it’s a bucket,” Bishop said.
Transition buckets became common for CPP to exert pressure defensively and offensively throughout the entire game. The Broncos converted 19 turnovers into 14 points, adding to their lead since the beginning of the match.
Despite seven points from CSUSM in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, the game closed out with a layup from Lloyd, finalizing the victory for the Broncos 77-56.
Four players on the team scored double-digits, including Nelson, Stajic, Minor and Hudson who achieved a double-double with a career-high 19 points with 11 rebounds. This was also Nelson’s sixth consecutive game scoring 20 points or more, with exactly 20.
“A lot of those points come from my teammates looking for me and trusting me,” Nelson said. “Knowing that I have their trust, and that they really believe in me, makes it even easier.”
CPP is currently ranked No. 9 in the WBCA NCAA Division II women’s basketball coaches’ poll. The Broncos are scheduled to face Cal State Monterey Bay Feb. 7 at 1 p.m at The Kelp Bed in Seaside, CA.
Feature image courtesy of the CPP Athletics
