The Cal Poly women’s basketball team (10-8, 3-2 Big West) saw its six-game home winning streak come to an end with a 75-57 loss to UC Davis (11-7, 4-1) on Saturday night.
Tying the game three times in the first period alone, the Mustangs fell behind in the second quarter, ending the half trailing 34-26.
The Mustangs only made 29.6 percent of their field goals in the first half compared to the Aggies’ 40 percent.
“We have to have more balance in our scoring,” head coach Faith Mimnaugh said. “Our ability to score is a concern.”
Cal Poly also had a three-point percentage of 12.5 percent in the first half, while UC Davis ended the half making 33.3 percent of its three-pointers.
The Mustangs had more difficulty in the third quarter and trailed 55-40 at the end of the period. Cal Poly tried to pick up pace toward the end of the game, but Davis didn’t let its guard down.
“Our kids still fought to the end,” Mimnaugh said. “They didn’t always have the best efficiency on the court, but the effort was not questioned.”
Junior forwards Amanda Lovely and Hannah Gilbert led the Mustangs in rebounds, with Lovely pulling down 10 and Gilbert hauling in eight.
The game ended with the Mustangs shooting less than 34 percent from the field and the Aggies shooting almost 44 percent.
The Aggies were on fire from three-point range in the second half, hitting eight of 14 treys. On the contrary, the Mustangs made only four of their 17 attempted three-pointers in the game, all made by senior guard Beth Balbierz.
Balbierz led the Mustangs in scoring with 21 points on 6-18 shooting. Gilbert added 12 points and sophomore guard Dynn Leaupepe pitched in 10 points of her own.
The Mustangs will leave to take on UC Riverside at 7 p.m. on Jan. 28.