Cal Poly Women’s Basketball wrapped up its season series against UC Davis with a one-sided 70-56 loss on Saturday, Feb. 25 inside University Credit Union Center.
The loss was the Mustangs’ (9-16, 6-11 Big West) 15th straight to the Aggies dating back to 2015, while the win helped Davis (14-13, 10-7 Big West) continue its solid play this season.
Although three Mustangs scored in double figures, the game was never particularly close, and the Mustangs never once held the lead.
The Aggies found themselves white-hot in the first frame, shooting 50% from the field and opening up a quick 7-2 lead. However, once the Mustangs immediately scored five straight points to tie it at 7-7, it seemed like those in attendance were in for a competitive contest.
This was not at all the case, as UC Davis finished the quarter on a 14-0 run, taking a 21-7 lead with them into the second 10 minutes.
However, Cal Poly continued to, if not keep the game close, at least battle when and where ever they could, as they opened the quarter with a 7-2 run of their own to make it a 23-14 score.
That would be as close as the game got, as UC Davis proceeded to become almost unstoppable from the entire floor, but especially from deep, as they whipped off five of them to help them finish the half on a 20-1 run, giving them the 43-15 halftime lead.
While the outcome of the game was never in doubt as the clock ticked away in the second half, the Mustangs played a much better game as the half progressed.
While the lead was only cut to 22 heading into the fourth, it showed that in this game much like they have been all year, they showed that they were willing to fight as long as they could.
The Mustangs even managed to close the game on a 9-0 run as the seconds ticked down, making the score 70-56 as the final buzzer sounded.
Individually, junior forward Natalia Ackerman led the way with 14 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore guard Annika Shah added in 10 points and three assists for Cal Poly.
Up next, the Mustangs will try to get back in the win column when they return home to face the UC San Diego Tritons on Thursday, Mar. 2 at 6 p.m. inside the Mott Athletics Center, in what will be the final home game of the season.
