11-9 (6-2BWC)
UC Irvine
4-18 (1-6BWC)
Cal Poly Stays in First Place With 74-58 Big West Home Win Over UC Irvine
1/31/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Eleven players scored for the Cal Poly women's basketball team on Saturday night, helping the Mustangs stay in first place atop the Big West Conference standings thanks to a 74-58 win over UC Irvine in front of 1,041 fans in Mott Athletics Center.
The Mustangs (6-2, 11-9) nearly led wire-to-wire, as 16 players played in all, and the bench outscored the Anteaters by a 22-10 margin.
Cal Poly went up for good (at 7-4) on a 3-pointer from senior guard Kristen Ale less than five minutes in.
The Mustangs then steadily pulled away, leading 36-27 by halftime and then taking their largest lead, at 59-38, on a layup by freshman guard Dynn Leaupepe that polished off a 23-9 run with 9:55 remaining.
Leaupepe scored a team-best 14 points (to go with her seven rebounds), as did sophomore center Hannah Gilbert (who also added eight boards). The duo of underclassmen combined to shoot 14 of 28 from the floor.
Cal Poly senior guard Ariana Elegado went 3 for 6 from 3-point range en route to nine points, increasing her career total to 223 made 3s — just one away from matching the seventh-highest total in league history.
Ale also had nine points.
Mokun Fajemisin led UCI (1-6, 4-18) with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
The Mustangs will now travel to Hawai'i (12-7 overall) for a 7 p.m. (PST) tip-off on Saturday, Feb. 7. The Rainbow Wahine were one of the two teams that began the day tied for second in the conference (with Long Beach State being the other), at 4-2.
Photo © 2015 David E. Holmes
