Sophomore forward Mary Carter’s 27-point career high wasn’t enough to take down Long Beach State, the Mustangs losing 72-64 in their final game before the postseason.
After clinching the eighth seed for the Big West Championships with their win against Cal State Fullerton last week, the Mustangs looked to close their season strong with a home win on senior night.
The team celebrated four seniors: guards Annika Shah and Sidney Richards, forward Sydney Bourland and graduate guard Ashley Hiraki.
The Mustangs came out of the gate hot, jumping out to a 10-point lead in the first. Mary Carter led the charge with 13 points on perfect 5-5 shooting, going 3-3 from beyond the arc.
Carter has scored 23, 17, and now 27 points in her last three games, with two career-highs in the three-game stretch.
The Beach rallied back, taking the lead mid-way through the second quarter with a three-pointer from Jada Crawshaw. Crawshaw finished the game as one of three Long Beach players with at least 17 points on the night.
The Mustangs trailed for the rest of the game.
While Long Beach State displayed its scoring depth, Cal Poly struggled to support Carter.
The team entered an all-too familiar scoring drought, going 27% from the field on 9-33 shooting through a mid-game stretch. Cal Poly finished the game shooting 34.4%.
Foul trouble also limited playing time for Richards and redshirt sophomore forward Sierra Lichtie, who ended the matchup with four fouls each.
Long Beach State’s lead extended to 20 points in the fourth. However, the Mustangs began to push back in a late rally.
Back-to-back threes by Carter were followed by another three from freshman guard Gabby Robinson as they cut the lead down to 9 with over a minute left.
After multiple Long Beach turnovers and a pair of free throws from Hiraki, the Mustangs then cut the lead to 7.
In the next possession, Robinson missed a key transition jump shot following a steal, and Long Beach maintained its lead to close out the win.
Cal Poly now looks ahead to the Big West Championships in Henderson, Nevada, where the eighth-seeded Mustangs face the fifth-seeded UC Santa Barbara in a Blue-Green rivalry rematch on Wednesday, March 12 at noon.