POMONA, Calif. – Four Broncos scored in double figures Thursday, leading the Cal Poly Pomona women's basketball team to a convincing 70-56 home win over Cal State L.A..
The result keeps the Broncos in a two-way tie for third place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) standings at 14-7. Humboldt State also holds a 14-7 mark after defeating No. 1 UC San Diego Thursday.
The Broncos can guarantee themselves a first-round home game for the CCAA Tournament with a win Friday against Cal State Dominguez Hills. The start time for that game is 5:30 p.m. at Kellogg Gym.
Seniors
Megan Ford,
Charlene Popoff and
Sarah Semenero led the Bronco charge, with each player coming up just short on respective double-doubles.
Ariel Marsh delivered 10 points off the bench.
Ford totaled 14 points on 7-for-13 shooting while adding nine rebounds. Popoff contributed 13 points and eight rebounds, as she sunk all five of her shot attempts. Semenero hit three three-pointers while also totaling 13 points and eight rebounds
With those three players combining for 25 rebounds and
Jennifer Bryant adding a career-high seven, CPP finished with a 45-22 edge on the boards over visiting CSULA.
The Broncos jumped out to an early 15-4 lead behind the stellar shooting of Popoff, who later dropped in a layup to make it a 30-11 advantage with 6:02 to play in the half. Moments later, the Golden Eagles' Lacy Ramon sunk a shot to snap a five-minute scoring drought for the visiting CSULA squad. The halftime score settled at 37-22 in favor of CPP.
A 14-0 run for the Golden Eagles early in the second half brought the margin down to 41-36 with 13:58 to play after CSULA's Erika Ruiz completed a three-point play off a layup and free throw. The Broncos countered quickly though, racing to a 20-4 spurt of their own to get the lead back to well in double digits.
CPP helped its cause by shooting well from beyond the arc, ending the night 9-for-21 - 42.9 percent - in that category. Aside from Semenero's three treys, Bryant and Marsh contributed two apiece. In the end, the Broncos' lead stayed in double digits for the final 12:30 of the contest.
Up next will be the Friday 5:30 p.m. home matchup with the Toros of CSUDH. The game will be the regular season finale and "Senior Night" for the Broncos.
