Wildcats fall short in comeback attempt against Cal Poly Pomona

Matthew Ferreira|February 17, 2019

McKena+Barker+fights+for+the+rebound+Thursday+night+against+Cal+State+San+Bernadino+Photo+credit%3A+Ricardo+Tovar
Gallery // 3 Photos
McKena Barker fights for the rebound Thursday night against Cal State San Bernadino Photo credit: Ricardo Tovar

The Chico State women’s basketball team lost their game against Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday by a score of 62-50.

The Wildcats got out to a quick start offensively after junior guard Madison Wong drained a three-pointer to give the team an early 5-2 lead.

The teams stayed close through most of the first quarter but Cal Poly was able to go on a run in the latter end of the frame and the team took a 20-14 lead into the start of the second quarter.


Cal Poly was firing on all cylinders to start the second and jumped out to a sizeable lead. Their offense was taking advantage of three-point shot opportunities and scored 19 points in the quarter.

Pomona’s second-quarter defense also proved to be too much for the Wildcats as they were held to a total of just five points in the period. The score going into the half was 39-19. This was largely in part due to Pomona’s rebounding success on both sides of the court which took shot opportunities away from Chico.


“We let them get too many offensive rebounds and that killed us early.” Sophomore guard Shay Stark said.

In the third quarter, the Wildcats showed some improvement on the offensive end; they were able to put up 14 points in the period. Chico found some success in getting the ball into the paint and reading the defense to find the open shot.

Chico’s defense, however, was not able to get into the groove that they were looking for as Pomona put up 17 points in the quarter to keep their lead at a comfortable 23 points and started the fourth quarter at 56-33.

The Wildcats made a push for a comeback as their offense was able to put up 17 points.


“They moved the ball more and stuck to their strengths,” Stark said.

The late offensive effort and the defense’s ability to hold Pomona to just six points in the period gave the Wildcats hope, but a few late free throws and defensive plays gave the Broncos the cushion that they needed to put Chico away late.

The Wildcats will have a few days to make some adjustments and go over the film before they take on Cal State Los Angeles on Thursday in LA.

 

Matthew Ferreira can be reached at [email protected] or @MattFerreira_ on Twitter.