Cal Poly came out with a win on Friday, Feb. 13 as the Mustangs defeated Cal State Fullerton 70-65 in overtime at Titan Gym.
Sophomore guard Abbey Ellis and senior forward Sierra Campisano led the way for Cal Poly (9-5, 5-3 Big West) recording 24 and 18 points respectively. The two leading scorers also contributed a combined 14 rebounds and nine steals to push the Mustangs past Cal State Fullerton (1-14, 0-11 Big West).
The first quarter started with an offensive surge from the away team as Cal Poly scored the first 13 points of regulation. Fullerton finally got on the board with a three-pointer at the 4:28 mark of the first quarter. Cal Poly maintained a significant lead through the rest of the quarter as it ended with the score sitting at 18-7.
Going into the second quarter, defense started to affect the game as both teams had only scored six points through the first half of the second quarter. At the 5:06 mark, junior center Zoe Stachowski put up a quick layup followed by a jump shot to put the Mustangs up by 15. The quarter ended with the Mustangs up 29-19 going into halftime.
At halftime, the Mustangs had shot a better field goal percentage (41%) than their opponent and were tied for free throw percentage (66%). Both teams played strong defense through the first half and the Mustangs showed consistent play on the offensive side of the ball.
At the start of the second half, Fullerton began to close the gap as they held Cal Poly to 12 points for the entire third quarter. At the 3:32 mark, the Titans surged back to make the game close thanks to a 12-point performance in the remaining three minutes of the third quarter, making the score 41-36 with Cal Poly still on top.
The beginning of the fourth quarter remained tight as both teams went back and forth, keeping the score tight leading to the 6:32 mark where the Titans tied the score at 46. A three-point shot from the Titans gave them their first lead of the game. The rest of the quarter remained tight with multiple lead changes, eventually leading to Ellis taking the final shot of regulation. Ellis’s shot missed the mark and the fourth quarter ended with the score sitting at 56-56 forcing the game into overtime.
In overtime, the Mustangs regained their offensive spark as they went up by four after Campisano sank two free throws. The Mustangs held on to the lead through the end of overtime with Ellis closing out the game with four made free throws.
Cal Poly finished the game shooting a better field goal percentage (44.3%) and out-rebounding Cal State Fullerton 43-28. The Mustangs also recorded more steals than their opponent (13-12).
Cal Poly will complete the back-to-back with Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, Feb. 13 at Titan Gym.