Cal Poly women’s basketball lost their third straight game against the University of Denver by a final score of 75-63 on Saturday, Dec. 4 inside Mott Athletics Center.
Both the Mustangs (1-5) and the Pioneers (5-3) entered the matchup on a two game losing streak.
Cal Poly found themselves in the lead early in the first quarter at 4-2. However, this proved to be the only lead of the game for the Mustangs, as Denver took over and never looked back.
A 9-0 run and solid defense for the Pioneers put them ahead 15-10 at the end of the first quarter.
Denver took advantage of costly penalties by Cal Poly to extend their lead in the second quarter and went into half with a commanding 38-21 lead.
The momentum carried over for Denver in the second half as they secured their largest lead of the game of 18 points. However, Cal Poly answered with a 15-4 run that cut the Pioneer lead to just seven. Junior point guard Maddie Vick and junior guard Maddie Willett led the way for the Mustangs as they attempted the comeback. At the end of the third, Cal Poly found themselves behind 59-46.
The Mustangs continued to battle down the stretch, but they were never able to cut into the lead in the fourth quarter and ultimately fell 75-63.
Vick and Willet ended as the top scorers for Cal Poly, with 13 and 12, respectively. Senior forward Hannah Scanlan joined them in double digits with 11 points of her own.
The Mustangs struggled offensively, as they were outshot from the field and from three-point land by Denver.
Cal Poly will now hit the road to take on Northern Arizona on Monday, Dec. 13 at 6 p.m. inside Walkup Skydome.
