The Cal Poly women’s basketball team (16-10, 12-3 Big West) remains optimistic about its chances in the upcoming Big West tournament, despite two recent losses to Cal State Northridge and UC Riverside.
The losses mirror the team’s end-of-season performance last year, when it lost the top seed in the Big West Conference after losing two of its last three games — only to be knocked out of the tournament in the first round.
Guard Rachel Clancy said those parallels between last season and this year’s are unrealistic. The team held on to the top seed with a record of 10-3 despite the losses, in which last year’s team dropped to the second seed before the tournament.
“From my perspective, we haven’t lost three of the last five,” Clancy said. “We’ve won 10 of the last 13.”
The two losses don’t mark a streak of bad luck, Clancy said. They are results of a knee injury and a case of pneumonia to two players off the court.
The players’ absences meant the rest of the team had to fill the open spots. Many of the players were worn out because they couldn’t take a breather when they needed it, Clancy said.
Player fatigue took its toll when Cal Poly lost to Northridge, which was 3-22 and at the bottom of the Big West at the time of the loss.
“Northridge went down to the last second,” Clancy said.
The Mustangs lost by eight to UC Riverside. The reason: points from the free-throw line, Clancy said.
The missing players will be back in upcoming games, and Clancy said this is good news as the Big West Tournament approaches. The first tournament game is March 8. Only time will tell if the tournament will be a repeat of the previous season.
Political science junior and basketball fan Sara-Rachell Grunow remembers last season’s late losses and doesn’t want to see the team suffer the same fate.
“I got to know the team last year really well and that was the heartbreaker because I knew how much the girls wanted it,” Grunow said.
Grunow attended many of the team’s practices last season and said the losses came from a lack of team unity, not talent. This season won’t be a repeat of last year because of the strong group dynamic this time around, Grunow said.
“They have really good camaraderie and a good court sense with each other,” Grunow said. “It doesn’t look like five individual players; it looks like one team.”
The team’s 12-3 Big West record is also encouraging for Grunow.
“A few losses a season are totally OK,” Grunow said. “They’re still going to make it to the playoffs, and they’re going to get back into the swing of things for the season.”
Cal Poly will host the first round of the Big West tournament at Mott Gym, on Tuesday, March 8. Cal Poly is in a great position coming into the home stretch, head coach Faith Mimnaugh said. The team still holds the first seed and has a chance to win the Big West Championship for the first time ever.
“We’re shooting for the big-time here,” Mimnaugh said.
Mimnaugh, who has been coach for 14 years, said she is especially eager to see the team win because she’s witnessed how far women’s basketball has come.
“It’s been quite a journey,” Mimnaugh said. “From having this progress into making the tournament to potentially being first seed.”
Whether or not the Mustangs are first seed still depends on their performance down the stretch. The Mustangs have earned at least a share of the Big West title, but will win the championship outright if they defeat UC Santa Barbara this weekend.
“Everybody wants to win” Mimnaugh said. “I can’t guarantee that we’re going to win but we’re going to prepare to win.”
That doesn’t mean winning will be easy, Clancy said. Competition is fierce among all nine Big West teams.
“Anybody can beat any team on any given night,” Clancy said. “They can beat us, we can beat them,” and it all comes down to which team has a good night.
Clancy especially wants to see the women’s basketball team win because she’s in her last season with the team. She envisions the team’s own banner in Mott Gym marking Cal Poly women’s basketball’s first championship victory in the Big West.
“Everyone always says we’re trying not to think too far ahead, but for those few seconds that I do, I would love to hang a banner in Mott Gym,” Clancy said.