The seventh-seed Wildcats got the last laugh Friday afternoon after upsetting the second-seeded Cal Poly Pomona Broncos in their fourth matchup of the season.
After falling to the Broncos a week prior in the CCAA Championships, Chico State got revenge in a 57-52 overtime win, knocking Pomona out of the NCAA Tournament. This was the Wildcats’ second overtime win over the Broncos this season. They finished with a split record of 2-2 against their familiar foes, with both teams earning wins on their opponents’ home courts.
Senior guard Jordan Allred, once again, was a key factor toward the Wildcats’ win, scoring the go-ahead bucket in overtime and finishing with a team-high 16 points and 11 boards. Allred earned her career-best sixth double-double of the year, an impressive mark considering she only recorded one throughout the previous season.
“It’s not just me, it’s my teammates,” Allred said. “I always credit Meadow [Aragon] for boxing out everybody. She’s our big and our defensive presence, and I just go in there and grab the rebounds.”
Broncos sophomore guard Sydney Nelson had another strong performance against the Wildcats, scoring 20 points, all of which came inside the painted area, and came up one rebound short of a double-double. This was as much as the Wildcats could ask for defensively, slowing her down after she torched them in their last matchup for 29 points.
It was another evenly paced, gritty matchup between these teams, as they both struggled to shoot the ball. The Wildcats shot only 29% from the floor, only hitting 19 of their 65 shot attempts, with the Broncos slightly outshooting them at a 31% clip, making 21 of their 67 shots.
The pair of seniors, forward Meadow Aragon and guard Jadence Clifton, were the only other Wildcats to reach double figures. Aragon finished with 12 points and Clifton finished with 10 after converting the game-winning free throws in the final seconds of overtime.
“I’m extremely proud of our team and our kids,” head coach Brian Fogel said. “They are amazingly tough, unselfish, talented, smart, and they just play for one another, and it’s been that way from the beginning.”
Chico State will next take on the Central Washington Wildcats on Saturday at 5 p.m. in the second round of the Western Regional Bracket. Central Washington is coming off an upset win of their own after taking down the two-seed Point Loma Sea Lions.
For information about all Chico State athletics or to keep up with the game live, visit the Wildcat home page, or watch through FloSports.
Lukas Mann can be reached at orionmanagingeditor@gmail.com.
