POMONA – Cal Poly Pomona tripled Cal State L.A.'s points in the second quarter to take control of the game and never looked back, soaring to a 71-49 victory Thursday night.
With the victory, the Broncos improve to 10-5 on the year and 6-3 in conference, now sitting in third place in the CCAA. CSULA drops to 5-10 overall, 3-6 in the CCAA.
Kasey Smit had a stellar night, posting a double-double with 21 points (10-for-15) and 11 rebounds.
Jayda Villareal followed with 10 points (3-for-6), while three other Broncos contributed eight points a piece:
Jackie Ricketson,
Leilia Orji and
Sheridan Glover.
Glover tied Smit's efforts off the glass with 11 rebounds, while Ricketson was close to a triple-double with nine boards and nine assists to go with her eight points. It helped the Broncos crush the glass 49-to-35.
The game started out pretty balanced with the two teams exchanging leads in the first five minutes. With CPP trailing 12-9, Villareal drained a three off a
Dominique Dotson assist and sparked a 10-0 run. Glover, Smit and Orji each got in on the scoring to put CPP up 19-12 before Cal State L.A. could regroup.
It gave the Broncos momentum and a 19-17 lead heading into the second quarter, where the home squad created some separation with solid defense. CPP held the visitors to just an 18.2 shooting percentage.
Ayah League started the period with a triple from Glover to help CPP build a double-digit lead with three and a half minutes left to play in the half. The Eagles cut the run briefly, but Ricketson scored back-to-back layups to give the Broncos their largest lead of the half, 34-21, just before the break.
The Broncos out-scored the Eagles 15-to-5 in the second, scoring 10 points on second-chance opportunities, to take a 34-22 cushion into halftime.
It seemed CPP was unstoppable as it further extended its lead to 19-points, 56-37, heading into the final quarter.
Smit tipped the cushion into 20-point range right out of the gates in the fourth, banking in a put-back just 15 seconds into the quarter. With just under three minutes left, it looked like Smit would give CPP a 30-point lead off another put-back, 69-40.
CSULA tried to chip away at the margin, but CPP wouldn't allow the Eagles to get close as the Broncos won the game 71-49.
With their fourth-straight victory, the Broncos look to keep rolling as they take on Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. in Kellogg Arena.
