Senior guard Annika Shah broke the 1,000 career point mark in Cal Poly Women’s Basketball’s win over Long Beach State, 78-71, on Saturday at the Walter Pyramid.
The Mustangs (9-10, 4-5 Big West) stay at eighth in the conference with their lone game this week, while Long Beach State (11-7, 7-2 Big West) rests in second place.
Shah’s 24 points gave Cal Poly a much-needed win on the road as they round out the first half of the conference season. She hit eight of 22 shots and went 2-for-9 from beyond the arc.
Shah leads the Big West with 2.9 three-point field goals made per game, 0.5 more than the closest competition, putting her in the top 20 across Division I women’s basketball.
Her record-breaking basket came at the tail end of the first quarter when she hit a floater to cut the lead to a one-point deficit at the end of the first quarter.
Cal Poly is second in the Big West in three-point percentage this season (.315), but the Mustangs were cold from three-point range in the game and only hit 3-of-17 attempts as a team.
However, the offense came alive in the paint. The Mustangs scored 42 points in the paint compared to the Beach’s 28.
Redshirt sophomore forward Sierra Lichtie scored a season-high 17 points and hit seven of 10 field goals.
True sophomore forward Mary Carter, in just 22 minutes played, scored 14 points and grabbed six boards.
Securing the win
Cal Poly took the lead in the second quarter and held off Long Beach State for most of the game. But the Mustangs put themselves in a dangerous situation in the final minute.
The Mustangs were up by six with 40 seconds left when Lichtie and senior forward Sydney Bourland committed back-to-back fouls. Long Beach also scored off a layup in that possession, cutting the lead to four.
Then, a foul by Shah in the fastbreak put Long Beach State back at the free-throw line. The lead was cut down to two with 24 seconds left.
After Shah hit two free throws to put the lead back to four, the Mustang defense caused a clutch turnover. Shah hit two more free throws to seal the game.
The Mustangs have two crucial home games next week that have major implications for Cal Poly’s potential spot in the Big West Tournament.
The Mustangs have a favorable matchup at home against Cal State Bakersfield, who are 1-7 so far in Big West play, next Thursday at 6 p.m. at Mott Athletics Center.
