By Erik Carr
BroncoAthletics.com

SAN FRANCISCO – In front of a crowd heavily supportive of the visiting Broncos, the Cal Poly Pomona women's basketball team defeated the Gators of San Francisco State, 44-36, in dramatic fashion at Main Gymnasium to commence conference competition for the 2011-12 season.

The Broncos climb to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play.
They return to Kellogg Gym for their home conference opener on Dec. 1 at 5:30 p.m. against Cal State Stanislaus.

Senior center Megan Ford scored her 11th double-double of her CPP career. She finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds. SFSU junior guard Nicole Hicks also had a double-double, scoring a game-high 14 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in the losing effort.

Following a dismal first half, the Broncos sprang to life scoring eight unanswered points en route to a 22-21 lead. However, as the Broncos increased their physicality, so did their errors, which the Gators took advantage of, culminating in a 7-0 run.

But following a three-pointer by junior guard/forward Michaela Booker with 8:56 remaining, to give the Gators their largest lead of the game, the Broncos miraculously prevented the Gators from scoring another point while taking an 18-0 run into the final buzzer.

The go-ahead shot occurred with 2:35 left in the game, when senior guard Sarah Semenero drilled a trey on an assist by senior guard Rosslyn Beard to give the Broncos a 39-36 lead. Semenero finished with 13 points, and Beard finished with a game-high four assists.

The opening half was a different story for the Broncos. Despite senior forward Charlene Popoff scoring the Broncos' first four points, Booker gave the Gators the lead on a three-pointer to make the score, 5-4.

But after the Broncos tied the game, 7-7, early in the opening half, the Gators took advantage of the Broncos' lack of offensive rebounds and proceeded to go on a 6-0 run.

In spite of the errors made by SFSU, CPP failed to take advantage of several opportunities while the Gators made the most of theirs.

The Broncos were outrebounded by the Gators, 31-18, including 11-3 in offensive boards in the first half. For the game, the Gators won the overall rebound battle, 51-35.

The Gators (0-3, 0-1 CCAA) will head to the Grand Canyon Thanksgiving Tournament and will play Grand Canyon on Friday and Missouri Science and Technology on Saturday. The games tip off at 5 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.