Box Score | POMONA, Calif. – Having gone winless at the Eagles' Nest through the last two years, the 17th-ranked Cal Poly Pomona women's basketball team arrived in Los Angeles ready to play Friday and captured a lopsided 86-70 road win over Cal State L.A.
Led by
Ariel Marsh's strong three-point shooting and
Jada Blackwell's relentless rebounding, the Broncos put together a big second half after holding a slim four-point margin at the break.
Tyler Woods did plenty of distributing for the CPP offense as she racked up a season-high six assists to go along with 15 points.
At 11-2 overall and 8-1 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), CPP keeps its first-place lead atop the conference standings and extends its win streak to four games. Four Broncos scored in double figures Friday and Marsh totaled a season-best 26 points with five three-pointers in 39 minutes of action.
Blackwell collected her fifth double-double of the season with 17 points and 16 rebounds, becoming the first CPP student-athlete to reach the 16-rebound mark since Megan Ford accomplished the feat two years ago. With Blackwell's help, the Broncos have outrebounded 12 of their 13 opponents in the 2013-14 campaign. On Friday, senior guard
J.J. Judge contributed nine rebounds.
Junior
Ashley Lovett also put together a strong performance, tallying 16 points to join Marsh, Blackwell and Woods in double figures.
The Broncos fell into a 6-0 deficit through the first two minutes of the contest but the offense came alive late in the first half as CPP put together a 8-0 run. Woods helped the Broncos get going in that spurt with a three-pointer from the left side. One minute later, Marsh dropped in a scoop shot in the paint to extend CPP's lead even further.
The two squads combined to shoot 37 free throws in the opening half as 24 fouls were committed. The Broncos held a 37-33 halftime lead thanks in large part to a 76.2-percent free throw effort while the Golden Eagles went just 8-for-16 at the charity stripe through the first 20 minutes of action.
After L.A. got a layup from Paige Melville on its opening possession of the second half, CPP rallied for an impressive stretch in which it outscored the Golden Eagles 16-3. Marsh hit a pair of three-pointers in that run and the Broncos continued to widen its advantage in rebounding.
A successful free throw from Blackwell pushed the CPP lead to 67-46 with that 21-point margin marking the largest of the game. Despite the Golden Eagles knocking down four three-pointers in the second half, the Broncos' edge stayed in double digits through the final 16 minutes of action.
CPP will return to action Saturday with a 5:30 p.m. road game at Cal State Dominguez Hills. The Toros recorded a home win Friday over Humboldt State, 79-61.
