POMONA – Cal State L.A.'s women's basketball team put itself in position for a possible upset Friday night at Cal Poly Pomona, but simply ran out of steam in the second half.
 
The Golden Eagles held a slim lead at halftime and led for the final time with 16 minutes to play before Cal Poly Pomona took over the game and went on to a 73-61 win at Kellogg Gym. Cal State L.A. (9-14, 8-11 CCAA) lost its sixth straight game, but the Golden Eagles didn't go down without a strong battle.
 
Bree Parsons had nine points for the Golden Eagles, who had five players score eight points or more. Kaija Powell had eight points and seven rebounds, Franeka Hall had eight points and seven rebounds, Chiara DiMarco had eight points and two assists and Shanice Jackson hit all four of her field-goal attempts and scored eight points.
 
Cal Poly Pomona (18-5, 16-3 CCAA) got 17 points from Ariel Marsh, 16 points and 10 rebounds from Jada Blackwell and 13 points and 12 rebounds from Ashley Lovett.
 
Neither team shot as well as it did in the teams' first meeting of the season in the Eagles Nest. Cal State L.A. made just 36.2 percent (21-of-58) of its shots, while Cal Poly Pomona made just 38.5 percent (25-of-65). The Golden Eagles were just 4-of-18 from 3-point range, while the Broncos were only 4-of-16. Cal State L.A. was 15-of-25 from the free-throw line, while Cal Poly Pomona was 19-of-24.
 
Cal State L.A. held its own on the boards and battled the Broncos evenly, 43-43, in rebounding. The Golden Eagles had 22 turnovers to 20 for the Broncos.
 
The Golden Eagles held the lead most of the first half and built their largest advantage, 14-9, after a jumper by Hall with 9:57 remaining in the half. A layup by Geena Greene gave the Golden Eagles a 24-20 lead late in the half, but a 3-pointer by Jordan Henry made it a 24-23 lead for Cal State L.A. at halftime.
 
The Broncos scored the first five points of the second half to take a 27-24 lead, but a 3-pointer by DiMarco tied it and a layup by Kiara Harewood gave the Golden Eagles their final lead of the game, 29-27, with 17 minutes to play. Cal Poly Pomona responded with a 14-2 run to take a 41-31 lead before a layup by Greene and a free throw by Parsons stopped the run. A 3-pointer by DiMarco sliced the lead to 41-37 and a jumper by DiMarco made it 44-41, but the Broncos scored the next seven points to restore their lead to 10 points with 10 minutes to go.
 
Cal State L.A. closed to within seven points, 55-48, after a basket by Parsons with 6:32 to go and a pair of free throws by Kiah Knox kept the margin at nine, 61-52, with 3:56 to go, but that's as close as the Golden Eagles would get.  
 
Ali Orlich was fouled by Cal Poly Pomona with only eight seconds remaining and hit both free throws to account for the final points of the game.

Cal State L.A. will return to action with its final road game of the season at UC San Diego on Saturday.