POMONA, Calif. - The UC San Diego women's basketball team lost to Cal Poly Pomona for the second time in as many tries this season, this time falling by a 72-55 score on Saturday evening in Kellogg Gymnasium on the CPP campus. With the loss the Tritons drop to 20-8 overall and 12-6 in CCAA play while the Broncos improve to 11-13 overall and 8-10 in conference action.
The Tritons appeared as if they would take care of business on the night, opening up an 11 point lead in the first half and entering halftime with a 33-29 advantage. After the break, however, the Broncos would tie the score at 35 apiece after the first five minutes of the second stanza. The two teams would exchange the lead before the sixth tie score of the game came with just over seven minutes to play at 48-48. Cal Poly Pomona would use a 14-0 run over the next three and half minutes to secure a double-digit lead that would not dip below 12 points the rest of the game.
As a team the Tritons shot nearly 53% from the floor in the first half, but went ice cold in the second, making only seven of 22 shots from the floor. Michelle Osier led the way with her 18 points and seven rebounds while Meaghan Noud and Alexis Gaskin each added 12 points in the loss. UCSD, a team that averages five 3-point field goals made per game, took only four shots all night from beyond the arc, making just one.
The Broncos made 40% of their shots from the floor in both halves and dominated the glass, hodling a 44-31 advantage on the boards. Vanessa Dominguez led the way for CPP, scoring 14 points and pulling down nine rebounds. Reyana Colson and Ashley Moody each added 10 points. Colson also dished out a game-high seven assists in the win for the Broncos.
UCSD falls into a tie for third place in the CCAA standings alongside Sonoma State. Both teams trail CCAA leader Chico State by three games and Cal State San Bernardino by two. Both Chico State and CSUSB have secured home court advantage for the first round of the CCAA Tournament while Sonoma State and UCSD will need one win in the final two regular season games next week to host the first round playoff game on Tuesday, March 4.
Head coach Charity Elliott's squad will look for that one win on the road next Thursday and Friday, traveling to CSU Monterey Bay on Thursday evening before playing at San Francisco State on Saturday night. Both games are slated to begin at 5:30 p.m.
