CARSON, Calif. — With just four games left before postseason, Cal Poly Pomona needed just one win to secure a spot in the CCAA tournament. The Broncos got what they needed Thursday night, grabbing a 59-56 nail biter victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills.
 
CPP improves to 16-9 overall, 12-7 in the CCAA. CSUDH drops to 10-15 on the year, 7-12 in conference.
 
Kasie Smit (7-of-17) and Jackie Ricketson (7-of-12) both finished the night with 14 points, with Smit also grabbing 12 rebounds for her eighth double double of the year. Jayda Villareal also finished with double-digit points, scoring 11 on 4-for-9 shooting.
 
Both teams shot at a 37.9-percentage from the field – with neither team excelling from distance – but the Broncos shined at the line when they had a chance, finishing all seven free throws they had.
 
 Smit got the game going with a jumper off a Ricketson assist, sparking some back-and-forth action, before setting the Broncos off on an 8-0 run to take a quick 12-4 lead. Villareal stole the ball away and found an open Ricketson to cap the run and force a Toro timeout.
 
CSUDH scored out of the break, but Que Vanhook completed an and-one to give the Broncos their largest lead of the night, 15-6, halfway through the first quarter.
 
CPP shot 7-of-14 in the first quarter and looked to keep that momentum rolling as it took a 21-16 upper hand into the second. The Broncos also were a perfect 7-for-7 at the charity stripe in the first quarter.
 
The Toros battled back in the second and took the lead on a 7-0 run to start the quarter. Neither team wanted to surrender the upper hand, putting the teams deadlocked at 27-27 at halftime.
 
The back-and-forth action continued into the second half as the lead changed seven times in the 10 minutes. It was the Toros, however, that would take a 44-42 upper hand heading into the final quarter.
 
Ricketson tied the game up at 44-44 less than two minutes into the fourth, but the Toros built back a multi-possession lead, 48-44.
 
Sheridan Glover and Villareal had back-to-back jumpers to tie the game once more, but it wasn't until there was just over three minutes left on the clock the Broncos could get back in front. Villareal stole the ball away and gave a quick give-and-go to Ricketson before draining a three to put CPP up 53-50. Smit made a stop on defense and then drove to the basket to extend the lead to five.
 
CSUDH kept things close and looked to take back the game in the final minute of action, but Villareal stole the ball away with nine seconds on the clock and hit a jumper to give CPP a 59-54 lead.
 
The Toros would score once more, but Glover grabbed one last steal before time expired to make sure CSUDH couldn't try for the buzzer-beater and secured the 59-56 victory for the Broncos.
 
CPP heads to Cal State L.A. Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. tip off.