SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - Cal Poly Pomona was the deserved victor of a tightly-contested battle with host Cal State San Bernardino, 69-65, in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) opener for both women's basketball teams Saturday inside Coussoulis Arena.

With its first win away from home this season, CPP improves to 2-3 overall and 1-0 in the CCAA. Cal State San Bernardino drops to 2-4 overall and 0-1 in league play. The Broncos thereby continued their dominance over their area rivals, having now taken 11 straight meetings.

Cal Poly Pomona got baskets from Cosette Balmy, Ciara James and first-time starter Chynna Cochran to turn an early 2-0 deficit into a 6-2 lead, and held an 8-7 edge at the initial media timeout.

The opening quarter was marked by eight turnovers for each side. A wide-open right-wing three-pointer by Ally Bates pushed the Broncos ahead, 14-9, with the visitors up 16-12 at the end of 10 minutes.

Suddenly trailing 19-18 after seven points in a row by the Yotes, CPP got a three-pointer from the top of the key from Jayda Villareal. Bates then got her hands on a steal and fed Sydney Fedinec for the easy lay-in as the hosts called timeout back down 23-19 with 7:08 left in the second.

Another Villareal triple, from the exact same spot with Balmy again on the assist, extended the run to 8-0. Three successive buckets from Monica Todd, all assisted by Cochran, later made it 32-23. Villareal stayed hot, catching a pass up ahead from Bates on the break and drilling her third three from the right wing to give the Broncos a double-digit cushion for the first time, 35-23.

CSUSB got a pair of Mia Dufresne field goals around a fast-break Fedinec layup following a Villareal steal, to put the halftime score at 37-27. Villareal had all 11 of her points in the second period.

After the teams traded baskets early in the third, seven straight Yote points cut their deficit down to just three at 39-36. The stretch was finally ended by a high-arching Rebecca Islas three-pointer, with CPP leading 42-36 at the quarter's media break with 4:42 to go. A deep step-back triple by Fedinec served to at least somewhat break up a strong late push by the home side that saw it trail by just one, 46-45, nearing the one-minute mark. Two Cochran free throws, a Todd layup and another Fedinec three regained a 53-48 lead for the Broncos after three.

A Nina Wallace three-pointer for CSUSB followed teammate Destiny Jackson and Cochran trading buckets to open the exciting final session. The Yotes tied the score at 55-55 and 57-57, but were unable to go ahead. A Villareal three-pointer offset Samantha Henley's fourth make from beyond the arc, for a 64-60 CPP lead. Though Bates pushed that advantage to six with two from the line, the hosts would not go away, as Wallace came up huge again from long range to make it 66-63.

Fedinec's nice floater in the lane for 68-63 preceded two Jackson free throws. Henley missed three-pointers in the next two possessions for CSUSB, with CPP gathering the rebound both times, and Fedinec's free throw after the latter one icing the game as the Broncos survived.

Fedinec led three Broncos in double-digit scoring with her game- and season-high 16 points, shooting 6-of-9 from the field, hitting both her three-point attempts, and notching her team's final three points in the narrow triumph. Todd matched her season best with 14 points and grabbed five rebounds, while Villareal added 14 points of her own to go along with two assists, two steals and a team-high six boards. None of the three started, as the CPP bench out-scored the CSUSB reserves, 44-24. Cochran contributed eight points, a team-high four assists, and a game-best three steals. All were her season highs.

For the Yotes, Henley tallied 12 points, with Jackson and Wallace collecting 10 apiece. Tatianna Russell grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.

Cal Poly Pomona is back home for a pair of CCAA matchups to kick off the month of December next week. The Broncos first welcome Stanislaus State into Kellogg Arena on Thursday, Dec. 2. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m., with the men's game to follow.

All CCAA basketball contests throughout this 2021-22 season will stream live online via the CCAA Network at www.ccaanetwork.com. Fans may also download the CCAA Network app on your iOS or Android smartphone, tablet, or through web streaming devices such as Amazon Fire, Roku or Apple TV. The broadcasts are free of charge through the remainder of the 2021 calendar year. Admission into Kellogg Arena is free for CPP students, staff and faculty.

Bronco Bits: Cal Poly Pomona is 202-99 (.671) overall and 155-62 (.714) in CCAA play under 12th-year head coach Danelle Bishop ... Bishop's career mark is 340-184 (.649) in her 18th on-the-court season ... CPP is 9-2 in CCAA openers in the Bishop era (3-0 vs. CSUSB), with three straight victories since a 72-65 loss at Stanislaus State on Nov. 18, 2017 ... The Broncos' starting lineup consisted of Cosette Balmy, Ally Bates, Chynna Cochran, Rebecca Islas and Ciara James, with Cochran drawing her first start in the green and gold ... CPP has used five different starting lineups over its first five games this season, with Bates and Islas the lone Broncos to begin all five ... Roschondra Prince made her college debut off the bench late in the first quarter ... The Broncos are 1-3 outside of Pomona in 2021-22 ... The Coyotes entered at 2-0 at home this year ... CPP owns a 49-15 advantage in the all-time series (20-10 in San Bernardino), with 11 straight wins (five in a row at CSUSB) since a 68-60 road defeat on Jan. 1, 2016 ... The Broncos are 20-3 against the Coyotes under Bishop (8-3 on the road) ... The teams also began the 2019-20 CCAA slate against one another, with CPP taking a 82-57 home decision on Nov. 21 ... In the CCAA preseason coaches' poll, CPP was picked to place second with three first-place votes, and CSUSB was favored for a share of 11th ... The sides will meet again at Kellogg Arena on Sunday, Jan. 2, at 1 p.m.