J.J. Jenkins
sports@mustangdaily.net
There are times when Molly Schlemer looks simply pedestrian on the court. There are others when she’s backing down a helpless foe in the paint and the crowd starts cheering in anticipation of another easy bucket for Cal Poly.
In the Mustangs’ semifinal game against UC Santa Barbara, Schlemer flipped that switch at halftime and led a Cal Poly charge into the final round of the tournament. The 62-43 win over the Gauchos gives the Mustangs a spot in the Big West tournament final for the third time in five years, this time against the top-seeded Pacific Tigers.
Schlemer, the Cal Poly center, had six points on 3-of-8 shooting at halftime and couldn’t seem to find the right touch at the rim. She was even getting beat to rebounds by the speedier Gauchos. At the break, UC Santa Barbara trailed by two points and the game appeared to be a tossup.
But then the Big West Player of the Year version of Schlemer showed up. Her shots, which at one point looked like lame ducks clanking off the rim after contested attempts, found a feathery touch and dropped through the net.
“Molly’s touches were super physical and (UC Santa Barbara) took her off the block,” head coach Faith Mimnaugh said. “It was a different look for her, so once we were able to get her closer to the block, I thought that she had some more success.”
Two layups by Schlemer in the opening minutes of the second half put UC Santa Barbara on the defensive inside, but the Mustangs then kicked the ball out to redshirt sophomore Ariana Elegado who drained a 3-pointer. The race was on.
“I feel like I have confidence in my shot, which I was lacking last week against Long Beach, so I’m glad I got that back” Schlemer said. “All props to my team getting me the ball, we’re No. 1 in the conference in assists for a reason.”
Much like the men’s victory over the Mustangs’ other rival, UC Davis, on Thursday, the women found their touch in the final 20 minutes and ran away with a victory.
Now, with the Mustangs in the Big West tournament final — a win advancing the team to the program’s first NCAA tournament — and Schlemer coming off a 20-point second half, Cal Poly is on the offensive.
Mimnaugh has been to three finals with two different Big West Players of the Year (Rachel Clancy, 2011) and this year she’s letting her captains take the lead on pre-game preparations so that they feel more comfortable.
“Relaxed, but not too relaxed so they’re falling asleep,” is how Mimnaugh described the feeling she wants her team to have Friday night and Saturday before the game.
Confident might be another word to describe how the team feels against Pacific. The Mustangs defeated the Tigers twice this season by a combined four points, including a triple-overtime victory in Mott Athletics Center.
Experience is also on the Mustangs side. Four starters can remember the bite of a 17-point loss to UC Davis in the Big West tournament finals in 2011. Schlemer, then a freshman, played six minutes and didn’t record a basket. Kayla Griffin, the defensive star for the Mustangs who held the Gauchos’ leading scorer Sweets Underwood to four points on Friday, started that game and went 1-of-7 in 32 minutes of action.
Same goes for junior guard Jonae Ervin, the nation’s leader in assist-to-turnover ratio, and senior guard Caroline Reeves.
Relaxed, confident, experienced. A triple-threat the Mustangs bring into Mimnaugh’s third championship appearance.
“As Molly always says,” Mimnaugh said. “Third time’s the charm. Hopefully that will be the case.”