Box Score | SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – Road games in the CCAA are rarely easy and Saturday's game at Cal State San Bernardino was the exact opposite, a grind-it-out game that took five extra minutes to be resolved.
The nationally-ranked Cal Poly Pomona women's basketball team prevailed in the end though, topping the rival Coyotes in overtime, 76-73, for the Broncos' 12th conference win.
At 15-3 overall and 12-2 in CCAA play, CPP continues to carry a two-game lead in first place in the conference standings. Cal State Dominguez Hills now holds sole possession of second at 10-4 through league action.
A back-and-forth game through the entire 45 minutes, Saturday's contest in San Bernardino featured 14 lead changes and neither team led by a double-digit margin.
Four Broncos finished in double figures, including a 21-point performance from
Ariel Marsh. Fellow third-year
Ashley Lovett also turned in a dominating effort, collecting 16 points and 15 rebounds for her third double-double of the year.
CPP took a 66-63 lead into the final moments of regulation but the Coyotes got a clutch three-pointer from Alexcia Mack with five seconds left to send the game into overtime.
Jada Blackwell powered the Broncos' attack early in the extra period but was issued her fifth personal foul with 1:56 to play.
Later in the overtime,
Lauren Goecke registered one of her four assists with a nice pass to Marsh for a key basket that gave CPP a 74-69 edge. The Coyotes managed to trim the margin back to one point but two clutch free throws from
Tyler Woods pushed it back to a three-point different heading into the final possession.
The Broncos played tough defense in those final seconds as the host CSUSB squad couldn't get a shot off before the buzzer sounded to conclude the 76-73 CPP victory.
Despite only playing 28 minutes, Blackwell totaled 18 points, six rebounds and four assists. Goecke turned in an efficient performance with 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting. Marsh, Goecke and Lovett played 42 minutes apiece in Saturday's overtime contest.
Although CPP ended up getting outrebounded 44-37, the Broncos were helped by the Coyotes' 14-for-22 effort at the free throw line.
The Broncos will return home to host Cal State Monterey Bay on Thursday with tipoff set for 5:30 p.m.
