2-1
Portland
0-3
Cal Poly Wins Home Opener as Gilbert Has Career-Best Double-Double
11/23/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The Cal Poly women's basketball team cut a 14-point deficit to just one during a three-minute stretch toward the end of the first half on Sunday afternoon, and the Mustangs stayed on a roll after returning to the court, on the way to a 76-67 win over Portland in their home opener at Mott Athletics Center.
Led by 17 first-half points from forward Cassandra Brown, the Pilots took a 33-19 lead with 3:32 remaining before the break.
But Cal Poly (2-1) went on a 16-3 run, during which senior guard Kristen Ale scored 16 points (in part off going 3-for-6 from 3-point range).
The Mustangs then scored the first seven points of the second half, part of a 30-9 run overall.
Cal Poly center Hannah Gilbert recorded a career high for the second game in a row, as the sophomore followed up her 14-point performance in Friday's win at LMU with 16 on Sunday (on a 6-for-10 day from the floor). She also pulled down a career-best 11 rebounds.
Ariana Elegado sank 8 of her 15 shots for a team-leading 19 points. She also led the squad in assists for the third straight game, this time with five. Over this past weekend, the senior guard moved up to sixth in school history in career scoring, now with 1,115 points (18 back from No. 5 all-time).
Senior forward Taryn Garza had nine points and seven rebounds in the win, and freshman Dynn Leaupepe added eight points and eight rebounds. Along with junior guard Beth Balbierz's seven-board effort, they helped produce a 14-7 advantage in offensive rebounding over the course of the game.
Portland had been coming off a close 45-41 loss at CSUN.
The Mustangs will continue their four-game home stand with a trio of games at the MAC this week.
They'll host Pepperdine at 7 p.m. Tuesday before holding the eighth annual ShareSLO Holiday Tournament (5 p.m. Friday versus Dartmouth and then 5 p.m. Saturday against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi).
Kent State will also play at the tournament, which opens with 3 p.m. games each day, all free for admission.
Photos © 2014 David E. Holmes
