14-12, 9-5BWC
UC Davis
13-12, 8-5BWC
Cal Poly Tied for Second in Big West Conference After Key Win at UC Davis
2/26/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
DAVIS, Calif. — In a crucial battle for second-place positioning in the Big West Conference standings Thursday night at UC Davis, the Cal Poly women's basketball team went on a 26-10 run during the first 11 minutes of the second half, leading the way to a 68-52 road win over the Aggies in The Pavilion.
The Mustangs improved to 9-5 in league play (14-12 overall), moving a half-game ahead of UC Davis (8-5, 13-12) and into a tie with CSUN (9-5, 19-9) — three behind first-place Hawai'i (12-2, 20-7).
The top two at the end of the regular season both earn byes to the semifinals of the Big West Tournament, beginning March 13 at the Honda Center in Anaheim. (Seeds 3 through 8 will start in the first round and quarterfinals earlier in the week at Titan Gym in Fullerton.)
Cal Poly ran away with a 50-27 rebounding edge Thursday (including a 15-5 margin on the offensive glass), led by double-doubles from sophomore center Hannah Gilbert and freshman wing Dynn Leaupepe.
Leaupepe finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Gilbert added 14 and 10, along with a career-high five blocks (coming after her three-rejection performance on Feb. 12).
Rachel Koehler also grabbed eight rebounds during her 15 minutes off the bench, as the post players combined to carve out a 13-1 advantage in second-chance points on the evening.
UC Davis took an 11-10 lead in the initial nine minutes, before Cal Poly used a 14-2 surge over the ensuing 4:15 — capped by back-to-back 3-pointers from senior guards Ariana Elegado and Kristen Ale — to go up 24-13 with 6:51 to play before the break.
After taking a 29-22 lead into halftime, the Mustangs conceded the first bucket of the second half before steadily pulling away afterward and eventually taking their largest lead of the game at 55-34 with 9:37 remaining (on another 3 by Elegado). From there, the closest UC Davis got was the final score.
Elegado had 15 points, 10 assists and four steals. Now with 450 career assists, she's 17 back of tying the school record established by former teammate Jonae Ervin from 2009-14 (467).
Elegado made all five of her free throws, as well, upping her in-conference cumulative total to 32 of 35 (translating to .914).
The Mustangs will next travel to UC Irvine for a 2 p.m. tip-off Saturday in Bren Events Center.
Photos © 2015 David E. Holmes
