Cal Poly Women’s Basketball failed to maintain a first half lead in a 42-36 defeat to UC Davis on Saturday, Jan. 25th inside Mott Athletics Center. Despite riding the momentum of a comeback victory against UC Riverside just two days prior, the Mustangs (4-12,1-4 Big West) were outscored 24-12 in the second half as the Aggies (9-9, 4-1) overturned a six-point deficit for the win.
Junior forward Sierra Campisano led Cal Poly with a game-high 15 points and 11 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season.
“This game is a great opportunity to learn,” freshman point guard Abbey Ellis said. “Each game is gonna be tough, so we’re not gonna let it get us down. We’re gonna come back stronger, definitely.”
Cal Poly failed to take advantage of its initial possession after securing the tip-off. After a missed three pointer from Ellis, UC Davis scored the opening points through a breakaway layup from redshirt sophomore Sage Stobbart. However, Ellis responded immediately with a layup to even the score at 2-2.
A three-pointer from Aggies junior Cierra Hall and a pair of free throws from Campisano brought UC Davis ahead 5-4. UC Davis went on to control the rest of the opening quarter, outscoring Cal Poly 10-3 to enter the second quarter with an eight-point advantage at 15-7.
“We were pretty stagnant in the first quarter and there wasn’t a lot of ball movement, not a lot of screens being set, not a lot of cutting,” Campisano said. “We were just kinda swinging the ball from two players.”
Senior forward Alicia Roufosse opened the second quarter with four points while Ellis put up two more to cut Cal Poly’s deficit to 15-13. Ellis went on to finish the night with nine points and three assists.
“For me, I think it’s just trying to be more of a leader on the court, [Campisano] and [junior guard Malia Holt] are great, great leaders and they help me,” Ellis said. “I think consistency is what I need to get better at, but I’ve enjoyed every single bit of it.”
With seven minutes remaining in the quarter, Cal Poly tied the game 15-15 through a Campisano jump shot. Campisano followed up with an offensive rebound and a three-pointer to give Cal Poly the lead and force a Davis timeout. Cal Poly went on to outscore the Aggies 17-3 in the second quarter to finish the first half with a six-point advantage at 24-18. UC Davis’ lone points in the quarter came through a three-pointer from senior forward Sophia Song.
The Mustangs opened the third quarter with a layup from junior guard Chantel Govan to take their largest lead of the day at 26-18 before the Aggies started to mount a comeback. Layups from UC Davis’s Hall and Katie Toole midway through the quarter cut the Aggies’ deficit to one point at 26-25. A three-pointer from Aggies freshman guard Evanne Turner followed by a breakaway layup from teammate Gray Campbell put both teams neck and neck as the third quarter drew to a close at 31-30.
Campisano opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer, but back-to-back scoring possessions from Aggies junior guard Mackenzie Trpcic granted Davis their second lead of the game at 34-33. The Aggies followed up with a 5-1 run to extend their lead to 39-34 with 3:12 left to play. Cal Poly was held to three final points and failed to overturn its deficit as the Aggies secured the 42-36 victory.
Cal Poly returns to play next Thursday, Jan. 30th to take on Cal State Fullerton on the road at 7 p.m.