Cal Poly Women’s Basketball was plagued by turnovers towards the beginning of the season. But with less than 15 turnovers in each of their last three games, the team had found a way to take care of the ball.
However, old problems resurfaced in Cal Poly’s (3-23, 1-15 Big West) loss against the University of Hawai’i (16-10, 10-6 Big West) as they gave up 20 turnovers, double the turnovers made by the Rainbow Wahine.
On Thursday night, the Mustangs continued their victory drought as they lost 71-54 to the University of Hawai’i, marking their 12th straight loss.
“Eliminating turnovers and simple mistakes on our side would have made it a closer game and a closer chance to win for sure,” freshman forward Charish Thomphson said.
While the Mustangs started with a 6-0 lead, the dominance of the Rainbow Wahine quickly shined through. With a 66.7% field goal percentage in the third quarter, Hawai’i obtained a comannding lead that helped seal yet another loss for Cal Poly.
“[Hawai’i] is taller than us in every position,” Thompson said. “It challenged us a little bit, but I think it was good for us to see and know that we got to work on that.”
Even though the Mustang defense was unable to stop Hawai’i, they kept up when it came to rebounds. The Rainbow Wahine earned 11 offensive rebounds and 16 defensive rebounds while the Mustangs tallied 13 offensive rebounds and 20 defensive rebounds.
Despite the 17-point loss, the Mustangs had standout performances from their young talent. Thompson led the offense with 22 points, closely followed by 13 points from sophomore forward Avery Knapp.
Thompson has been a constant for the Mustangs throughout the season, averaging 14.3 points-per-game and constantly captaining the defense alongside sophomore guard Vanessa McManus who leads the team in scoring with 16.7 points-per-game this season.
“[It’s] coming in everyday, being strong and feeding the energy to everyone else so we can just go out and compete every day,” Thompson said.
Even with 3-23 overall record this season, the Mustangs still find the light in this tough stretch. With just 2 minutes and 59 seconds left in the game, Thompson secured a foul that turned her previous layup into an and-one that brought energy into the team despite being down by 25 points.
Using this momentum, Cal Poly scored eight more points, lowering the deficit to less than 20 to close out the game.
“We just have to keep pushing… and finish strong,” Thompson said.
The Mustangs have a week to prepare for their next game. They will hit the road and take on Long Beach State on Thursday, Feb. 26 at 6 p.m. in the Walter Pyramid.