POMONA, Calif. – The Cal Poly Pomona women's basketball team earned its first win of the season on Wednesday night with an 82-77 victory over the Urban Knights of the Academy of Art.
 
"It was a good win," said head coach Danelle Bishop. "Coming off of injuries and trying to battle through those… it was great to earn the W. Academy of Art is a very good team, and we knew going into the game that they were going to be a tough opponent. They were great last year, and they didn't lose any of their starters. With our overtime loss last week we realized we had to just stay focused on what we can do, and I thought the girls did a great job learning from last weekend and making adjustments throughout the game."

Ariel Marsh led the Broncos with 25 points on the night as she went 9-for-16 from the field, including five triples and two free throws. Mian Dingle registered 17 points of her own with an 8-for-12 performance and one three.
 
The game got off to a quick start as a layup in the first three seconds from Ashley Lovett kicked things off. As the first half wore on, it was clear that the two teams had both come to win. Each time the Broncos scored, the Urban Knights answered back.
 
With the game clock ticking away, the lead changed sides seven times in the first half. A few key points by the Academy of Art, and the CPP squad was left to play catch up. Marsh sank three shots in the first half, all of them were from beyond the arc, giving her nine points. 
 
To kick off a solid assist game, Lauren Goecke contributed five assists for the Broncos in the half and added four points as well. Jada Blackwell provided a block and two steals, and Dingle sank four of her six shots to collect eight points herself.
 
With 7:36 on the clock, the Urban Knights saw their largest lead, as they were ahead 30-17. From there Dingle sank three-straight jumpers and the Broncos followed those up with a triple from Blackwell to pull to just five points behind AAU.
 
Heading into the halftime, the Broncos continued that game of catch up as the Urban Knights held a 37-32 point lead.
 
Coming out of the locker room, the Broncos' offense found a new spark as a three-pointer from Lovett kicked off a nine-point run that gave the Broncos the lead for the first time in 13 minutes.
 
AAU answered back and the remainder of the game provided a battle for both teams. Jumpers from Dingle and threes from Marsh brought CPP back even with the opposition with the score sitting at 63-63.
 
The final lead change of the game came with under a minute on the clock as a Goecke assist on a Dingle jump shot put the Broncos ahead 77-75. The last seven points of the game were free throws as the two teams wanted to gain and/or hold an offensive advantage. Three free throws from Goecke and a pair from Marsh and the score ended with the Broncos defeating the Urban Knights 82-77.
 
On the night, Goecke nearly matched the CPP record for assists, as her 11 brought her just two shy of the record. The last time a Bronco had 11 assists in a game was in 2009 when the current CPP assistant coach Reyana Colson recorded 11 against the Humboldt State Jacks.
 
Blackwell recorded 16 points as well as a pair of blocks, a couple steals, and eight rebounds. Goecke's 11 assists were on top of her 12 points, two steals and lone block.
 
As a team, the Broncos shot 16-for-21 from the free throw line, good for a 76.2 percentage, while AAU was 9-for-15. Numbers don't lie, and the Bronco offensive numbers are no exception. Prior to the break, CPP shot 40 percent, and after the break pulled the tally up to 58.6 percent.

The Broncos' next game will be on Sunday as they travel to Canada to take on the Simon Fraser Clan. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.