POMONA, Calif. - The Cal Poly Pomona women's basketball team pulled off a stellar comeback victory on Thursday night as they topped the Otters of Cal State Monterey Bay 61-60 in the two squads' second and final meeting of the regular season.
Mary Williams proved to be the standout on the Broncos' team in the contest. She racked up 29 points on a 13-for-21 showing complete with three successful shots from the free throw line. The 29 points proved to be the Rialto native's career-high point tally, besting her 24-point game from the 2014-15 season.
The win for the Green and Gold improves them to a 9-14 overall tally this season, complete with a 7-9 mark in the California Collegiate Atheltic Association (CCAA). The loss for the Otters was their 12th in conference play as they now hold a 4-12 record en route to their season tally of 8-15.
The contest was a tight matchup as the Broncos shot 44.2% from the field and the visitors to Kellogg Arena fired away at 46.9%. The Broncos did not take many shots from beyond the three-point arc, as they only shot three times with no luck. The Otters were a bit more active with the long shot, as they sank 6-of-19 in the contest. The free throw was neither teams' strong point as the Broncos only sank 15-of-32 shots taken while the visiting Otters managed just 8-of-14.
Priscilla Brooks added nine points of her own and led the game with nine rebounds. The sophomore sank 4-of-6 shots from the field. Williams and
Alyssa Benton each had seven boards of their own,
Jackie Ricketson pulled down five, and
Erin Hagan and
Jordyn Shane each grabbed a pair of rebounds themselves.
Even though the visitors led CPP through much of the contest, the two teams were even in many statistical categores. CSUMB carried the lead through 88.7% of the contest and it wasn't until the scoreboard read just over five minutes to play that the home team secured a lead. The lead for the Otters did reach double-digit points in the showdown as they reached an 11-point advantage three times in the first half.
At the halftime break, the score stood at 29-24 in CSUMB's favor and the Broncos sank 10 shots and four free throws to reach that tally.
In the second half, CPP pushed back and reached the Otters' score at three different points. Their last push to gain the lead was with 20 seconds to go in the contest as Williams sank her 29th point and gave the hometown Broncos the one-point lead. CPP never carried a huge advantage however as the largest deficit they forced on the Otters was a two-point separation.
The Broncos will return to action on Saturday as they host their second-to-last regular season home game against the Cal State East Bay Pioneers. The CSUEB squad improved their record on Thursday as they topped the Humboldt State Jacks 61-50 in Arcata. Saturday's game between CPP and the Pioneers is set to begin at 5:30 p.m. and it's Special Olympics Recognition Night for CPP Athletics. The Broncos' athletic department would like to welcome all fans who helped and/or have participated in any Special Olympics events.
