As the buzzer sounded, the Mustangs’ bench poured onto the court. Cal Poly cheered and celebrated a win in the first round of the 2011 Big West Tournament, but it was hardly the way the Mustangs imagined.
What looked to be an easy win for Cal Poly soon became much more difficult than that.
“We have to learn from the mistakes we made, because we will not win on Friday if we play like we did in the second half,” guard Rachel Clancy said. “That is a serious concern, but I think we deserve to enjoy the win this evening.”
After taking a 43-28 halftime lead, the Mustangs gave up 42 second-half points, but ultimately were able to hold on for a 73-70 win Tuesday night in Mott Gym.
It marks the Mustangs’ first tournament win since 2009, and after losing last year’s Big West Player of the Year Kristina Santiago just minutes into the season, it’s a feat that hardly looked possible at the beginning of the year. But, behind this season’s Big West Player of the Year — Clancy — the Mustangs are moving on to the second round.
“We’ve been working real hard all year, all 16 (players),” Clancy said. “Whether their injured or not, we’ve all been contributing. As the season’s gone on, I knew we could do it, and I’m really happy we are where we are.”
But Cal State Fullerton nearly turned all that joy into cold-hearted dismay.
After sinking basket after basket in the first half, the Mustangs couldn’t buy a basket in the second. The Mustangs saw their 53.1 shooting percentage in the first half shrink to 35.5 percent after the first 20 minutes. It gave way for the Titans — which trailed by as many as 17 points in the half — to fight back and make it 52-43 game with just under 15 minutes to play.
Then, with two 3-pointers by Cal State Fullerton’s Lyndsey Grove, the Titans cut the lead to one at 71-70 with nine seconds remaining.
With the Mustangs on the ropes, they turned to Clancy. She knocked down two key free throws to ice the game for Cal Poly.
“We needed her on the court at the end of the game, just to have your money player on the court knocking down free throws for you,” head coach Faith Mimnaugh said. “It was a solid game again; a team effort.”
A team effort, indeed. Every player who saw the court for the Mustangs scored. They had four different players post double figures. Clancy scored a team-high 17 points and guard Kayla Griffin added 12 points.
All helped the Mustangs’ storied season continue for at least one more game. And with Pacific upsetting UC Santa Barbara 49-45, the Mustangs will play the Tigers Friday at noon in Anaheim.
“It doesn’t matter who play,” Griffin said. “We’ve got to take the same mindset into any game. We need to go out there, we need to handle business and we need to win — no matter who it is. Every game is going to be like this. Every game is going to be a battle. There are no easy wins from here on out.”