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Mustangs' Second Half Rally Falls Short Against UCSB
1/7/2023 7:22:00 PM | Women's Basketball
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Three Mustangs scored in double figures but Cal Poly, who erased a 12-point halftime deficit, saw its second half rally come up just short Saturday against UCSB, falling to the Gauchos 65-59.
Junior guard Taylor Wu poured in a season-high 15 points to lead the Mustangs (4-8, 1-3 BW). Senior guard Maddie Willett scored a season-high 12 points and pulled down a season-high eight rebounds. Junior guard Oumou Toure, who made a season-high seven free throws, added 11 points and five rebounds.
In the first quarter, Cal Poly got out to a 6-2 lead after the first four-and-a-half minutes. UCSB answered with a 10-2 run over the following two minutes. Consecutive baskets by the Mustangs, two via Ackerman and one via Oumou Toure, gave Cal Poly a 14-12 advantage. The Gauchos scored as time expired to tie it 14-14 at the end of the first quarter.
Tied 19-19 with 8:30 left in the second, UCSB went on an 8-0 run over the next minute and a half to take an eight-point lead. Cal Poly cut the Gaucho lead down to 29-26 with 2:43 left before UCSB finished the half on a 9-0 run to take a 38-26 halftime lead.
Down 10 with 8:20 left, a 7-2 Cal Poly run over the next three minutes trimmed the Gaucho lead to 41-36. Trailing by seven heading into the fourth, the Mustangs opened the fourth with an 8-2 run to get within one at 53-52. However, UCSB then went on a 7-2 run to go up by six and pull away.
Cal Poly will host Long Beach State Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 6 p.m. inside Mott Athletics Center in its lone game of next week.
