Jefferson P. Nolan
jnolan@mustangdaily.net
The Cal Poly women’s basketball team emerged victorious in their semifinal game of the Big West tournament as they brought down rival UC Santa Barbara 62-43 in the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
The win was extra sweet for the Mustangs after last year. As the top-seeded team, Cal Poly fell in the semifinal round and was eliminated from the tournament. In that game, then-sophomore guard Jonae Ervin went down early in the first half with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
“Last year, we really choked,” head coach Faith Mimnaugh said. “I felt like we were the best team last year.”
But this year in the Honda Center, things were different.
“We’ve got through the semifinal game,” Mimnaugh said. “We’re really excited.”
As it has been for most of the 2012-13 season for the Mustangs, the win was all about the defense.
“One of the keys of the game was our defense,” Mimnaugh said. “We gave up six offensive boards in the first half, and we did a super job of keeping them out of the paint.”
As the Mustangs trotted into the locker room at halftime, the they held a 22-19 lead. Cal Poly, after missing its first nine field-goal attempts, recorded the lowest scoring first half of the season. The defense, led by senior forward Kayla Griffin, was the only thing keeping them alive.
“There was no panic (at halftime),” senior Kayla Griffin said. “We were playing good defense, but our offense was just shooting us in the foot. We were just taking bad shots, but as long as we kept having good defense I had full faith that our offensive side would attack. I have full confidence in my teammates.”
But the second half of play made it apparent that all Cal Poly needed was a warmup.
Schlemer, the recently named Big West Player of the Year, led the offense in the second half. After recording four points in Cal Poly’s regular season finale against Long Beach State, the Cal Poly center regained her confidence as she dominated the boards.
After scoring six points in the first half of play, Schlemer awoke in the paint and sparked the team.
“I had confidence in my shot, which I was lacking against Long Beach State,” Schlemer said. “We went out there and played our game. The team did an outstanding job at getting me the ball. When they did that, I just try to convert as much as I can. (Cal Poly) is No. 1 in the conference in assists for a reason.”
With a little less than ten minutes on the clock, Schlemer banked a shot off the glass and drew a foul. Junior point guard Jonae Ervin drew a huge grin from Schlemer as the 5-foot-3 guard jumped up to the 6-foot-5 center and hit her on the shoulder.
From then on, the basketball was in Cal Poly’s court.
“(Jonae) is a really good Energizer Bunny,” Schlemer said with a laugh. “If she gets really pumped up about something, you know that everyone is going to respond really well. That was a turning point. I just took that and ran with it.”
The Mustangs finished the game making 45.8 percent of their field goals while the Gauchos made 34.7 percent of their shots. UC Santa Barbara’s guard Nicole Nesbit led her team with 11 points, but it proved to be no match for Schlemer as she finished the game with a team-high 26 points and a total of nine rebounds.
Sophomore guard Ariana Elegado remained quiet for most of the game after missing her first three 3-point shot attempts, but Griffin matched Schlemer’s nine rebounds to propel Cal Poly to victory. After upending the Gauchos, the Mustangs will face first-seeded Pacific in the championship game of the Big West tournament on Saturday at 1 p.m..
“This is just a great opportunity,” Mimnaugh said. “I just want all of the players to see this as an incredible opportunity to be able to represent their school and their families. We’re really excited for the team.”