Cal Poly Women’s Basketball snapped its four-game conference losing streak against UC Santa Barbara with a 69-64 win on Thursday, Feb. 2 inside Mott Athletics Center.
The Mustangs (6-13, 3-8 Big West) didn’t trail for the entire game as the Gauchos (14-6, 7-3 Big West) couldn’t figure out the Cal Poly defense.
Cal Poly set the tone, as it went up 6-2 early in the quarter, but the Gauchos fought back to tie the game at six apiece.
However, the Mustangs didn’t falter, as they fired off four consecutive three-pointers to end the quarter, putting them up 24-17 in their highest-scoring first quarter of the season.
The Mustangs started the second quarter hot with a 5-0 run thanks to graduate guard Oumou Toure, and despite the effort from UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly didn’t let up, bringing the score to 37-31 into halftime.
The third quarter was more of the same for the Mustangs, as they shot 50% from three-point range and outscored the Gauchos 19-15, bringing the score to 56-46 heading to the fourth.
UC Santa Barbara started the fourth quarter off with a 6-0 run to bring the Mustang lead down to four, but Cal Poly continued to fight and closed out the 69-64 win.
Head coach Shanele Stires had high praise for her team after the win over the Gauchos.
“I think as a program it’s a signature win,” Stires said. “Credit to our team and players, they had a tremendous week of preparation and I thought it really showed tonight.”
The win was Cal Poly’s first Blue-Green rivalry basketball win since Mar. 5, 2021.
“It’s a rivalry game and our team needed a win like this,” Stires said.
Individually, Toure led the team in points and rebounds with 18 and eight, respectively. Meanwhile, junior guard Taylor Wu tacked on five assists.
The Mustangs will look to build on this win as they travel to Hawaii to take on the Rainbow Wahine on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 9 p.m. inside SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center.
