With their last home game, the Cal Poly women’s basketball team tips off against Cal State Northridge this weekend in an attempt to stay atop the Big West.
The Mustangs (16-8, 9-3 Big West) have only four games remaining in the regular season before the Big West championship tournament. Cal State Northridge (4-18, 2-9) is tied for last place in the conference meaning a win against Cal Poly this weekend would be one of their last chances to have a shot at the championship tournament.
“We expect them to come out aggressive to try and assure that spot,” assistant coach Kerri Nakamoto said.
Still battling with the flu for the second week now, Big West scoring leader Kristina Santiago says overlooking Northridge based on the standings would be a bad idea.
“They have beaten some good teams,” she said. “They are scrappy and hustle a lot. It would be a huge loss if we lost to them.
Victorious in eight straight home games, the Mustangs attempt to complete their first undefeated home game season against Big West opposition in program history. The team’s current .846 home winning percentage overall is also a single-season program record. The Mustangs have outscored opponents by 10.1 points per game in Mott Gym this year and held teams to a 38.1 percent field goal percentage. They established a new single-season program record with 11 home victories so far this year.
“We like being at home,” Santiago said. “It’s an advantage for us with the crowd and the atmosphere. It creates pressure for us to do well on the road. We are mentally trying to prepare for back to back away games.”
With a 19.3 points-per-game average, Santiago is the 10th Mustang to record 200-plus rebounds during one season. She needs 36 points in the next four games to become the first player in program history to score 500 points and grab 200 rebounds in the same season.
Part of her and her teammates preparation is extra time spent in the gym.
“Even on their day off I saw some of them in the gym shooting around or running,” Nakamoto said. “That was nice to see.”
Cal Poly leads UC Davis (16-8, 8-3) by only a half-game in the Big West Standings and UC Riverside (11-14, 8-4) by a full game.
“Davis is right behind us,” sophomore post player Abby Bloetscher said. “Not only will we have a better chance in the tournament, but it would also be a huge mental boost because we’ve never been first. We will actually accompish the goal we set.”
The Mustangs suffered a loss to Long Beach State at the end of last week forcing them into a first-place tie with UC Riverside.
“It’s the first time our team has been first so it’s a big deal for the program,” sophomore guard Ashlee Burns said. “We didn’t play to our potential… that loss made it that much more difficult because we have to win from here out to hold on to that spot.”
The team came back for a 58-51 home victory against UC Riverside on Sat. Feb. 13.
“Against Davis and Pacific we shot the ball out of this world,” Nakamoto said. “Against Riverside we only shot 32 percent from the field. We still managed to win which shows the value of rebounding and tough defense. It showed the girls even when shots aren’t falling we can still grind out a game win.”
UC Riverside’s 51 points was the second-lowest total by a Mustang opponent this season.
“It’s all about the little things that people do on our team,” Santiago said. “It’s not just me scoring 20 points or some one else getting 10 assists, lots of players have stepped up.
Saturday is also Senior night where the program will honor its three departing seniors: Becky Tratter, Ashley Stuart and Brittany Lange. Tratter would need 95 points to become the 14th player in program history to score 800 points during a career. Stuart leads the Big West with 351 career assists and Lange has averaged a career best 7.9 points per game this season.
“We want to have a good game for our seniors,” sophomore post player Bloetscher said. “We all love our seniors so it will be sad to see them go.”
Tip-off is set for Sat. Feb. 20 at 4 pm in Mott Gym.