Cal Poly women’s basketball fell short in overtime 66-64 against California Baptist University on Tuesday, Dec. 21 inside Mott Athletics Center.
Cal Poly (1-8) dropped their sixth consecutive game in the defeat while Cal Baptist (9-2) picked up their fourth consecutive win. This was the Mustangs’ first overtime game of the season.
Britney Thomas of Cal Baptist established herself in the first quarter, scoring eight of the team’s 14 points. Thomas finished the game with 29 points and 13 rebounds in only 23 minutes. She was countered by senior forward Hannah Scanlan, who tallied eight points of her own in the first quarter. Cal Poly finished the first with a 17-14 lead.
Cal Baptist started the second quarter with a 10-2 run to take a five point lead with 7:08 remaining in the quarter. The Mustangs then countered with a 9-0 run of their own to go back on top 28-24. The final five minutes of the quarter were back-and-forth, as Cal Poly eventually took a 33-30 lead into halftime.
Thomas made a layup to start the second half, but Cal Poly then went on a 10-0 run over the next almost five minutes to take a 43-32 lead – their largest of the game. The Lancers countered immediately and scored the next 13 points in the game. Junior point guard Maddie Vick made a layup with under a minute remaining to tie the score heading into the fourth quarter.
With 7:30 remaining, graduate forward Kirsty Brown knocked in a jumper to give the Mustangs a four point advantage. The Lancers came back into the game with ten points in the quarter, as a layup gave them a two-point lead with 1:55 remaining. With four seconds left in the game, junior guard Maddie Willett drew a foul on Thomas to earn a trip to the free throw line. She bottomed both shots to tie the game at 55 and send it to overtime.
In overtime, Willett and Vick both scored a basket to give the Mustangs a four point lead one minute in. A minute later, the Mustangs still held a four point lead before a three-pointer from Cal Baptist’s Brittany Klaman cut the lead to one.
The Lancers got a stop and on the next possession Klaman was fouled, went to the line, and hit two free throws to give the Lancers a one-point lead. With 1:37 left, Scanlan tied the game with a free throw.
A Lancer turnover led to a Willett jumper to take a 64-62 lead with just 50 seconds remaining. Cal Baptist’s Ane Olaeta came right back down the floor and tied the game with a jumper with just 36 seconds remaining.
Then, on Cal Poly’s final possession, the Mustangs turned the ball over, which led to Olaeta pushing in transition and drawing a foul to go to the line with one second remaining. She made both free throws to take the lead and the Mustangs were not able to get a shot off with just one second remaining.
The score was tied 16 times throughout the game and there were 11 lead changes. Cal Baptist recorded five three-point shots while Cal Poly only knocked down one of their eight attempts from behind the arc.
Willett and Vick led the way on the court, as they logged 40 and 43 minutes, respectively. However, it was Scanlan who was the focal point on offense with team highs in both points and rebounds, finishing the game with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Brown recorded a double-double on the night with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Cal Poly will open up Big West Conference play when they take on Long Beach State on Thursday, Dec. 30 at 1 p.m. inside Walter Pyramid.
