Nick CamachoSenior Day is a celebration of career accomplishments.
Nobody in Mott Gym had more reason to celebrate Saturday than Cal Poly senior forward Jessica Eggleston. In a 75-64 win over Cal State Fullerton – Cal Poly’s eighth straight victory – Eggleston surpassed the 1,000-point mark for her collegiate career in the first quarter of her final home game.
Despite becoming just the seventh player in program history, which dates back to 1974, to reach 1,000 points for a career, Eggleston remained humble afterward.
“Now that I’ve got it, it doesn’t feel any different,” Eggleston said. “It’s a good accomplishment, though.”
Eggleston was even surprised to learn she tallied her second straight double-double, finishing with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Cal Poly head coach Faith Mimnaugh praised the Mustangs’ team leader.
“Jessica is a champion,” Mimnaugh said. “She is driven and a competitor at anything she tackles. It’s been an amazing career.”
Mimnaugh presented Eggleston with a commemorative ball after the game. The two embraced at halfcourt, surrounded by teammates and fans.
Individual accolades aside, Cal Poly (13-12, 8-4 Big West) moved into a three-way tie for second place with UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Northridge.
The top two teams in the eight-team conference’s standings receive an automatic berth in the semifinals of the Big West tourney, which runs from March 7 to 10 in Anaheim. The top four seeds receive a bye in the first round.
After a dismal 3-10 start, the Mustangs have won eight straight and nine of their last 11 contests to shock everyone, including themselves.
“That’s just an incredible story for anybody to even believe or to see from where this program has struggled through the season and where we are right now,” Mimnaugh said, adding, “we want to finish as high as possible and get a bye.”
Through 25 games, Cal Poly is above .500 for the first time since it was 4-3 in early December.
The Mustangs dug deep to put away Cal State Fullerton, sending the Titans to third place.
Both teams came out firing in the first half, with Cal Poly attacking from the outside.
Meanwhile, the Titans (13-15, 7-7) established their presence inside with center Toni Thomas, who finished with 22 points and nine rebounds.
After setting a torrid pace in the opening minutes, Cal Poly settled into a rhythm behind Eggleston and sophomore post player Megan Harrison. Harrison paced the Mustangs with 25 points, shooting 5 for 8 from the floor and adding nine rebounds.
“I just wanted to win for my seniors,” Harrison said. “They mean so much to me.”
Harrison attributed her recent surge to a combination of confidence and being healthy for the first time all season.
After a Harrison free throw made the score 22-16, the Mustangs closed the final 7 minutes, 3 seconds of the first half on a 16-8 run.
Eggleston and Harrison combined to score 10 of the Mustangs’ 16 points during the run and 24 in the first half. Eggleston hit a baseline jumper as time expired to give the Mustangs a 38-24 halftime lead.
In the second half, the Titans employed the press, forcing the Mustangs into several bad passes and turnovers. The Titans stormed to a 16-7 run of their own, riding the press to cut the Mustangs’ 14-point lead to four (45-41) with 13:18 remaining.
“(The press) took us out of our offense, it was very effective.” Mimnaugh said.
Cal Poly took a more aggressive approach in the final 10 minutes of the contest, employing screens and attacking the center of the defense.
“I’m pleased with how we handled it, we kept our poise,” Mimnaugh said.
Senior guard Ardia Kelker turned in a determined performance in the second half. The undersized guard was instrumental in keeping momentum on the side of Cal Poly, continually splitting the Titans’ press and taking a key charge late in the game. Fittingly, Kelker also set a career high with six points on Senior Day.
Again, it was the duo of Eggleston and Harrison that carried the Mustangs in the latter minutes of the game. The pair scored seven of the Mustangs’ last nine points.
Junior guard Toni Newman also finished in double figures, scoring 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting. Kelker added six, shooting 4 of 4 from the stripe. The Titans got 22 from Thomas, who shot 10 of 11 from the line. Senior forward Charlee Underwood added 14 points and five boards.
For the contest, Cal Poly had edges in shooting (45.5 percent to 34.4) and rebounding (44-31).
The Mustangs visit Cal State Northridge in a crucial Big West game at 7 p.m. Thursday before capping the regular season at Pacific at 4 p.m. Saturday.