By Benjamin Grover, March 24, 2026
The Cal Poly women’s basketball team clinched the NCAA Division II West Regional Championship in a 57-51 win over Central Washington University March 16.
With the West Regional title, the Broncos punched their ticket to Pittsburgh to compete in the ‘Elite Eight’ against the University of Alabama in Huntsville March 24.
NCAA West Regional tournament MVP Sydney Nelson scored 29 points while having 15 rebounds, tying her highest field goals made this season at 13 and breaking her pervious rebound record this season of eight.
“When you’re really in that zone, you don’t even feel tired ,” Nelson said. “You just want to win so bad.”
Junior center Khamiyah Anderson, who only played double digit minutes 10 times this season, was a huge factor on the glass for the Broncos. The Broncos had 15 offensive rebounds, resulting in 23 second chance points, compared to the Wildcats’ three offensive rebounds, which resulted in only two second chance points. Anderson had five of the Broncos offensive boards, the most in the game.
“She did phenomenal,” head coach Danelle Bishop said. “She came in and gave us a little scoring boost, played some good defense. She was rebounding. It was awesome to see, and I was so proud of her.”
Freshman guard Kadence Lloyd was also vital for the Broncos, hitting the dagger to give the Broncos a four-point lead with four seconds left in the quarter. She scored a gritty, high backboard floater that helped the Broncos re-take the lead in the third quarter.
Bishop said Lloyd’s dedication to always putting the extra work in and staying committed made it an easy decision for her to put Lloyd in the game when it counted.
The Broncos got off to a winning start in the first quarter of the west regional. Junior forward Mydrea Moore and sophomore forward Hunter Hudson inflamed the Broncos’ offense early, giving them an 8-4 lead.
Junior forward Capri Sims and senior guard Asher Cai also responded for the Wildcats. Sims scored seven in the first quarter, and Cai was fouled shooting a 3-pointer, giving the Wildcats a 12-10 lead with one minute left in the first quarter.
Nelson replied with a jumper for the Broncos, but Cai scored a buzzer beater 3-pointer to end the first quarter 15-12.
Junior guard Brielle Minor started the Broncos’ second quarter off with a bang, as she scored a 3-pointer 30 second into the quarter to the tie the score at 15 apiece.
Nelson began heating up in the second quarter, scoring six points while collecting three rebounds, an assist and a steal before being subbed midway through the second quarter. The second quarter also saw the introduction of Anderson for the Broncos with CPP just narrowly leading the rebound game at 20-16.
“I’m a woman of faith, and I just prayed the entire tournament to be a great teammate,” Anderson said. “I did not want to go home losing that game, so I said I was going to do whatever it takes.”
Anderson made an immediate impact, rebounding off a 3-pointer and making a jumper for her first points of the night. She also recorded a block on Sims.
The Wildcats were able to keep the game close in the second through Sims and junior guard Kayla Thornton, who both scored four and closed out the second quarter 27-24.
Junior forward Fiona Snashall retook the lead for the Wildcats to being the third quarter. Snashall scored a 3-pointer and an and-one foul in the first minute to give the Wildcats a 29-27 lead
However, Nelson took over as a killer in the paint, with six of her 10 points in the quarter coming off the back of her own rebound.
“I’m sure coming into this tournament she had a little chip on her shoulder,” Bishop said, referring to Nelson not being named CCAA player of the year. “… She was one of those people who was crashing the boards and found another way to score it, which was her rebounding. That was really awesome to see.”
As consistent as Nelson stayed with her scoring, Sims did the same for the Wildcats, scoring nine points in the third quarter including an and-one after a foul by Broncos’ senior guard Alexis Woodson.
Nelson got the scoring started for the Broncos in the fourth with another layup in the paint 41-38. But the Wildcats responded to every bucket the Broncos made. Led by Cai and Sims, the Wildcats leveled the game at 49-49 with just under three minutes left in the fourth quarter after Cai 3-pointer.
After a Nelson and-one and a pair of free throws from Cai, the Broncos led by one with an inbound on the left side of the court. Nelson received the inbound then passed it off to Minor drove to the basket and kicked it out to a wide-open Lloyd in the corner. Lloyd tucked home the 3-pointer and with it, the game for the Broncos.
“That last play is funny to me because it was unplanned,” Lloyd said.
Bishop instructed Lloyd to get out of the way when Minor had the ball, but it resulted in Lloyd being open after her defender went to cover the paint.
“When I ran through, my man ended up helping, and then I was wide open,” Lloyd said. “It was just so crazy how that happened at the same time.”
The Broncos’ ‘Elite Eight’ matchup against the University of Alabama in Huntsville will take place 5:30 p.m. PST March 24 at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. If the Broncos advance, they will either play No. 1 Grand Valley St. or No. 8 Carson-Newman University 5:30 p.m. PST March 26.
“You can expect a show for sure,” Lloyd said. “We’re going to leave it all out on the floor and play our hearts out.”
Feature image courtesy of Nathan Herde
