The Cal Poly women’s basketball team expected to win its quarterfinal matchup with eighth-seeded Cal State Northridge yesterday at the Big West Tournament in Anaheim.
After dispatching the Matadors 74-65 yesterday afternoon, the third seed Mustangs (20-10) now begin their journey from the opposite side of the spectrum when they take on second-seeded UC Riverside tonight
“We’re definitely the underdog,” Cal Poly head coach Faith Mimnaugh said. “Riverside’s had their way with us the first two games.”
Sophomore forward scored a game-high 16 points for Cal Poly, who shot a blistering eight-of-11 from the floor in ending the Matadors season.
Cal State Northridge came out very quickly, taking a 9-2 early lead. The Mustangs had lost two of three entering the game, but they got back into the game and put their bad play behind them, blowing the Matadors out in the second half, leading by as many as 18 with less than nine minutes remaining in the game.
“We’re very excited about the win,” Mimnaugh said. “We’ve been working hard all season to meet our goal of making the NCAA tournament and this was another step for us.”
The going will likely get a lot tougher against the UC Riverside (19-10) in the semifinal. The Highlanders boast the conference player of the year in senior Kemie Nkele.
“We have to do a better job on (Kemie) Nkele,” Mimnaugh said. “We’re going to give Megan (Harrison) the assignment to try to lock her down. We need to make her put the ball on the floor so we can step up and help.”
Mimnaugh stressed that the Mustangs need to avoid a slow start if they are to beat the Highlanders.
“We need to put them off their game,” Mimnaugh said. “We can give them nervous jitters to start off the game. When you are the hunted maybe you sense that a little bit more.
In the other quarterfinal game, seventh-seeded Cal State Fullerton continued their surprise run through the tournament beating Pacific to set up a semifinal matchup with top overall seed UC Santa Barbara.
“Fullerton is playing some really good basketball right now,” Mimnaugh said of the Titans. “Whether they can sustain that for three straight games is a difficult task. I certainly wish them well in that endeaver, but they’re a lot smaller overall than Santa Barbara and that may be the difference.”
There is a significant difference in attitude between the games for Cal Poly, and Mimnaugh said the pressure that was on them yesterday won’t be there this evening.
“We knew were supposed to win that game,” Mimnaugh said. Tomorrow we have none of that pressure. We expect to win, but I don’t think anyone else expects us to win, it’s freeing in a way.”
Cal Poly is two wins away from their first NCAA tournament birth, but Mimnaugh said the team will keep a level head as they approach the biggest game of their careers.
“We’re just going to put it all out there,” Mimnaugh said. “If we win we will go nuts and if we fall short on the scoreboard we will be proud of the effort that we gave. The team is super motivated. They want to win a championship and tomorrow is their next chance to prove that.”