A year ago, junior forward Kristina Santiago’s lay-up as time expired sent the Cal Poly Women’s basketball team into the Big West conference championship game. This year, senior guard Brittany Lange had the chance to, once again, end UC Riverside’s championship hopes.
Trailing 54-46, with 79 seconds remaining, Cal Poly (19-10) recorded a three-pointer from junior guard Rachel Clancy and a layup from Santiago to turn the game into a one-possession contest in the final seconds.
After Clancy forced a turnover, Lange squared up from behind the three point line. Ranked third among conference players with a 40.2 percent three-point mark, her three-point attempt missed from the top of the arc.
Cal Poly fell to UC Riverside during the Big West conference semifinals, 54-51, Thursday night.
“I’m proud of Cal Poly and I thought we showed great fight and determination,” 13th-year Mustang head coach Faith Mimnaugh said in a release. “We had a difficult time keeping UC Riverside off the offensive glass and they did a great job of disrupting our tempo.”
UC Riverside (16-15), meanwhile, advanced to face UC Davis (21-9) in Saturday’s 1 p.m. tournament title game.
“It is difficult when you set out to win a championship and come up short,” Mimnaugh said.
Keyed by three-pointers from Lange, Clancy and sophomore guard Christine Martin, Cal Poly compiled a 19-7 lead after 10 minutes of action. Highlanders guard Tre’Shonti Nottingham’s jumper broke a 10-0 Mustang run, but Cal Poly still led by 11 points six-and-a-half minutes before the break.
The Highlanders, however, closed the first half by outscoring the Mustangs, 15-4. Deadlocked at intermission, 28-28, the Highlanders recorded the initial three field goals out of halftime.
Held to just four field fields during the initial 11 minutes of the second half and trailing, 44-36, Cal Poly received a three-pointer and a three-point play from Lange and a jumper by freshman forward Kayla Griffin during a two-minute stretch to level the scoreline, 44-44.
The Mustangs, who shot just 40 percent from the floor in the second half and 44.4 percent from the free throw line in the game, were then held to just a Clancy jumper during a four-minute span as UC Riverside built an eight-point lead with two minutes to play.
Clancy, who earned All-Big West honorable mention praise earlier this week, recorded her second double-double of the season with team highs for points (14) and rebounds (12). Santiago, the Big West’s leading scorer with 19.6 points per game, totaled 13 against UC Riverside and finished in double-digit scoring figures during each of Cal Poly’s 29 games.
Cal Poly, which matched Big West program records for victories (11), fewest losses (5) and winning percentage (.688) during the 2009-10 campaign, totaled 15 assists against UC Riverside to set a new program single-season record of 531.
The Mustangs will graduate three players from their 2009-10 roster. Guard Ashlee Stewart, second in Cal Poly history with 380 collegiate assists, established a new Mustang career appearances record with her 119th game on Friday. Forward Becky Tratter, named to the 2008 Big West All-Tournament Team, finished as the 14th-leading scorer in Cal Poly history with 763 career points. Guard Brittany Lange, who also earned All-Big West honorable mention praise this season, recorded nine points Friday and finished her senior year averaging a career-best 8.2 points per game.