Box Score | ERIE, Pa. - Playing hard from start to finish, Cal Poly Pomona women's basketball won praise from its fans and the Erie community. In the end though, top-ranked Bentley stayed undefeated with a 77-62 victory to end the Broncos' season in the semifinal round of the NCAA Division II Tournament on Wednesday.
The CPP season ends at 26-7 overall as the Broncos missed the opportunity to make the program's ninth appearance in the championship game. Through March, the CPP student-athletes brought their fun style of play into the national spotlight and made the university community proud.
Bentley improves to 34-0 on the season, advancing to play West Texas A&M for the NCAA Division II National Championship on Friday at Erie Insurance Arena. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. Pacific (7 p.m. Eastern) and the game will be televised on CBS Sports Network and NCAA.com.
CPP shot just 34.9 percent from the field Wednesday and posted an 11-for-16 effort at the free throw line. The Falcons also outrebounded the Broncos, 41-36. The game was a lot closer than the final 15-point finish indicated though as Bentley held a slim one-possession lead midway through the second half. Two Falcon players finished with double-double performances, including a 25-point and 10-rebound effort from Lauren Battista.
All-American
Jada Blackwell finished with a team-high 22 points, playing 28 minutes before fouling out. Through this year's NCAA postseason, Blackwell totaled 135 points. That left her just 15 shy of breaking the all-time Division II record for tournament scoring. Blackwell racked up 620 points in the 2013-14 campaign, putting her at No. 5 in Broncos' history on the single-season leaderboard.
Wednesday's Final Four matchup proved to be the final game as a Bronco for senior guard
J.J. Judge. She totaled 10 points, including two of the team's seven three-pointers. Judge concluded her CPP career with 149 threes, placing her at No. 2 in the CPP record book for that statistic.
Academic All-American
Ariel Marsh joined Blackwell and Judge in double figures Wednesday, collecting 11 points on 5-for-12 shooting. The Chino Hills native knocked down her 80th triple of the year against Bentley, moving her into second on the Broncos' single-season list.
Marsh sank the first basket of the game, tossing in a long two-point shot from the left side. Blackwell followed with a layup to give CPP the quick 4-0 lead.
The Falcons bounced back with balanced scoring, taking their first advantage of the contest at the 17:46 mark when Jacqui Brugliera knocked down a triple. Two more three-pointers helped Bentley put together an 8-0 run while taking a 19-10 lead with eight minutes played.
Ashley Lovett made a strong move in the post and dropped in a layup to snap the Falcons' run as both offenses encountered a scoring drought after that basket.
Mian Dingle got the Broncos back on the board with a triple from the top of the arc. She followed with a layup on the next possession, stretching CPP's run to seven-consecutive points.
The swings of momentum continued while Bentley used a sizeable first-half rebounding advantage to fuel a 29-20 scoring lead going into halftime.
After Blackwell and Lovett fell into foul trouble late in the first period, those two returned to the court as second-half starters. The Broncos began to work their inside-out game and chipped away at the Falcons' advantage.
A three-pointer from Blackwell made it a 42-39 score in favor of Bentley but the Falcons responded with a 12-2 run to take a 54-41 edge. The margin didn't fall below the eight-point margin the rest of the way.
Caleigh Crowell provided a tremendous boost for the Bentley offense in the second half. During those final 20 minutes, she went 6-for-6 from the field with a 3-for-3 effort from beyond the arc. Crowell scored 15 of her 21 points in that final period.
With Wednesday's result, CPP is now 55-19 all-time at the NCAA postseason. The 55 wins are the third-highest total in Division II tournament history as the Broncos only trail Bentley's 58 victories and Delta State's 57. Through school history, CPP has collected 899 victories.
Tuesday, March 25
QuarterfinalGame One at 9 a.m. Pacific (12 p.m. Eastern)
West Texas A&M 81, Limestone 44
Game Two at 11:30 a.m. Pacific (2:30 p.m. Eastern)
Nova Southeastern 72, Concordia - St. Paul 64
Game Three at 3 p.m. Pacific (6 p.m. Eastern)
Cal Poly Pomona 81, Edinboro 61
Game Four at 5:30 p.m. Pacific (8:30 p.m. Eastern)
Bentley 74, Drury 66
Wednesday, March 26
SemifinalGame Five at 3 p.m. Pacific (6 p.m. Eastern)
West Texas A&M 80, Nova Southeastern 66
Game Six at 5:30 p.m. Pacific (8:30 p.m. Eastern)
Bentley 77, Cal Poly Pomona 62
Friday, March 28
National ChampionshipGame Seven at 4 p.m. Pacific (7 p.m. Eastern)
West Texas A&M vs. Bentley
