SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – Breanne Ha came off the bench to provide a long-range spark and a game-high 18 points, including five 3-pointers, as the Cal Poly Pomona women's basketball team opened its 2022-23 campaign with a 62-57 victory over 21st-ranked Azusa Pacific Friday afternoon at the CCAA/PacWest Challenge hosted by Cal State San Bernardino.
It was an extremely tight contest throughout the 40-minute affair as neither team led by more than six points at anytime. The Broncos battled with the Cougars through 14 lead changes and eight ties, but CPP held a lead for more than 28 minutes in total.
Azusa Pacific held its largest lead of the contest at 24-20 midway through the second period, then Ha knocked down two straight three-pointers to spin the deficit into a brief lead for CPP. APU later converted a lay-in with a minute left and the game would be tied going into the intermission.
In the second half, Cal Poly Pomona never trailed by more than one point, but enjoyed a lead as much as six points at 43-37 with 1:56 to play in the third stanza. The fourth period was another close battle, but CPP scored the final four points of the game to secure the win.
Ha connected on 6 of 12 from the floor, including five from long range.
Donja Payne turned in a double-double effort with 13 points and 16 rebounds.
Alicia Jones and
Ally Bates also scored in double-figures, each with 12 points.
As a team, the Broncos were 21 of 54 from the floor (38.9 percent), and 7 of 20 (35.0 percent) from beyond the arc. The CPP defense held APU to just 36.4 percent from the floor on 20 of 55 shooting, including 9 of 30 from the three-point line.
Azusa Pacific was led by the 17 points of Amayah Kirkman, who also came in off the bench.
Cal Poly Pomona returns to action Saturday afternoon against Point Loma. Tipoff from The Den in San Bernardino is set for 1:00 pm.
Bronco Bits
- Head coach Danelle Bishop moves to 347-196 in her 19th season as a head coach, including 209-111 in 12 seasons at Cal Poly Pomona.
- CPP snaps a five-game losing streak to Azusa Pacific, improving to 13-10 all-time against the Cougars.
- The Broncos are 36-12 in season openers all-time, including season-opening wins in three of the last four seasons.
- With the defeat of No. 21 Azusa Pacific, Cal Poly Pomona is now 68-75 against nationally-ranked opponents since 1982-83, and 10-15 under head coach Danelle Bishop.
- As a program, Cal Poly Pomona is now 1,022-393 in its 48th season, including 99-58 in neutral site games and 126-53 in the month of November since its inception in 1974-75.
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