Despite a career performance by senior forward Megan Harrison, the Cal Poly women’s basketball team couldn’t overcome their first half woes in a 76-66 non-conference loss to Cal State Bakersfield Saturday afternoon in Mott Gym.
In her last game in front of the home crowd, Harrison grabbed a career-high 21 rebounds – the best single-game result since the program jumped to Division I play in 1994 and the second-best in program history. Harrison also scored 26 points, getting her third double-double in the past six contests. She is the first person in Mustang women’s basketball history to score 20 plus points and grab 20 plus rebounds in a single outing.
“I’ve just been doing whatever our coaches have been emphasizing. They’ve really been pushing me to rebound and that’s what I’ve been trying to do for our team, because that’s what they need me to do,” Harrison said after the game.
This was the last game for Harrison and senior guard Lisa McBride inside Mott Gym in front of Cal Poly fans. Prior to the tip-off, both players were honored with a special ceremony congratulating them on their tenure at Cal Poly.
“I tried not to think about it,” McBride said of playing her last home game. “I wasn’t too emotional because I feel like we still have a lot of season left because we’re going into the Big West Tournament. So, I was just trying not to think about it and I really didn’t. It just sucks now looking back.”
Since the opening tip-off, Cal Poly (18-9) was not the team fans are used to seeing. The offense looked sloppy, running up and down the court with no sense of purpose. Within the first four minutes of the game, Cal Poly had three turnovers as a result of forced passes to teammates that weren’t open. They were held scoreless for the first four minutes of play before McBride and sophomore guard Desiray Johnston hit back-to-back three-pointers. McBride finished with 13 points and eight rebounds in her final home appearance.
“I thought we sucked,” head coach Faith Mimnaugh said. “I feel bad for anyone who had to pay money to watch that today.”
By the end of the first half, the Mustangs dug themselves a 13-point deficit to the Roadrunners (18-10) that they couldn’t get out of until the final minutes of the game, when the closest they could get was within eight. The coaching staff was busy trying to put the right personnel out there, cycling 13 different players out to provide a spark.
“I didn’t think we had any kind of intensity about us. I felt like we came out flat and played like it was a game that didn’t matter,” Mimnaugh said of the continuous subbing.
Avoiding the bench, however, were Harrison and sophomore forward Kristina Santiago. They have been the cornerstones for Cal Poly’s offense all season and it wasn’t any different Saturday night. They both played a considerable amount of time and gave worthy performances. Santiago snatched nine rebounds and scored 20 points to keep her double-digit scoring streak alive at 24 games.
While the game had no bearing on conference standings, the Mustangs did not take the Roadrunners lightly. Cal Poly wanted to add onto the momentum they built going into this game as they approach the Big West Conference Tournament.
“I don’t know what happened to us tonight, but I know this next week we are going to turn it around,” Harrison said. “When we go down to Long Beach and Riverside we are going to be ready to play.”
Cal Poly will close out their most productive season since 1982 next week when they face off against Long Beach State on Thursday and UC Riverside on Saturday.
“We have so much potential and so much team chemistry,” Harrison said of the team expectations going forward. “I really don’t want it to end with just potential.”