A dominant fourth quarter pushed Cal Poly Women’s Basketball to its third straight victory in the form of a 54-48 win over CSU Fullerton on Saturday, Feb. 18 inside Mott Athletics Center.
It was a big win for the Mustangs (9-15, 6-10 Big West), as they have now pulled even with the Titans (11-14, 6-10 Big West) in the conference standings.
The first quarter was a tightly contested one, with both teams putting up solid offensive performances. Despite leading for the majority of the period, Cal Poly needed a pair of free throws from sophomore point guard Jazzy Anousinh to go into the second with a 15-13 lead.
Fullerton’s offense picked it up even more in the second quarter, grabbing the lead early and not letting it go until halftime when the Titans led by just one point at 29-28.
The third quarter was much different than the first two, as it proved to be a defensive battle where Fullerton seemed to be distancing itself from the Mustangs. After holding Cal Poly to just seven points in the period, the Titans headed into the final quarter with a 40-35 advantage.
However, the Mustangs turned it up on both ends in the fourth quarter as they made their final push.
After falling behind 44-39 with 6:33 remaining, a 6-0 run capped by a layup from sophomore point guard Annika Shah allowed Cal Poly to regain the lead at 45-44 with three minutes to go.
Back-and-forth scoring in the next minute left the score tied at 48 apiece with 1:21 left in regulation.
With 20 seconds remaining and the score still tied at 48-48, junior guard Taylor Wu drove into the lane and hit a clutch and-one layup to put the Mustangs ahead. After Wu hit the free throw, Cal Poly led 51-48.
From there, the Titans were held scoreless and a trio of free throws from graduate guard Oumou Toure clinched the 54-48 win.
Toure was the offensive catalyst for the Mustangs, dropping 23 points to go along with eight rebounds and three steals. Sophomore shooting guard Sydney Bourland, meanwhile, led the way on the glass with 11 boards for her second straight game with double-digit rebounds.
After Cal Poly’s matchup with UC Irvine originally scheduled for Monday, Feb. 20 was canceled, the next game for the Mustangs will be on Saturday, Feb. 25 against UC Davis inside the University Credit Union Center.
