Box Score
POMONA -- There would be no sweep of the five-time NCAA DIvision II national champions for Cal State L.A.'s women's basketball team. Cal Poly Pomona saw to that.
The Golden Eagles fell behind by 19 points in the first half and never recovered in a disappointing 73-56 loss to the Broncos Wednesday in Kellogg Gym. It was a costly loss for Cal State L.A., which slipped into fifth place in the conference race. The top four teams will host first-round CCAA Championship Tournament games.
The Golden Eagles (15-10, 13-8 CCAA) are one game back of third-place Cal Poly Pomona and Humboldt State, which upset No. 1-ranked UC San Diego on Wednesday.
Erika Ruiz and
Lacey Gibbons scored 12 points each for Cal State L.A., while
Lorin Hammer scored seven points and
Alisha Belt added six points.
Megan Ford led four Broncos in double figures with 14 points, while Sarah Semenero and Charlene Popoff had 13 points each and Ariel Marsh had 10 points.
Cal State L.A. shot 40 percent for the game (20-of-50), while Cal Poly Pomona shot 48.3 percent (28-of-58). The Golden Eagles hit 6-of-18 attempts from behind the 3-point arc, while the Broncos were 9-of-21). The Broncos, though, really dominated the game in the rebounding category, out-rebounding the Golden Eagles by a whopping 45-22 margin. Cal State L.A. forced 24 turnovers and committed 19.
The Golden Eagles fell behind from the start. It took Cal State L.A. more than four minutes to get its first basket, a 3-pointer by
Tessondra Williams that cut a 6-1 deficit to 6-4. Cal Poly Pomona then scored the next nine points to take a 15-4 edge. Gibbons knocked down a 3-pointer, Williams hit a basket and
Jazzi Johnson hit two free throws to cut the lead to 17-11, but the Broncos used another 13-0 surge to open up a 30-11 advantage.
A pair of free throws by
Maryum Jenkins made it 37-22 at halftime.
Cal State L.A. then used its best run of the game to close to within 41-36 with 14 minutes to go. A 3-pointer by Gibbons, a basket by Belt, a 3-pointer by Ruiz and a three-point play by Ruiz fueled an 11-0 run that got the Golden Eagles to within five points.
Cal Poly Pomona, though, countered with a 15-0 run to take a 56-36 lead and put the game out of reach.
Cal State L.A. will conclude the regular season on Friday with a road game at San Francisco State.
