The moment redshirt freshman Sierra Litchie made a free throw late in the fourth quarter to pull Cal Poly within two points of the University of Hawaii, Cal Poly seemed to have built momentum toward a hard-fought victory.
Despite cutting a six-point deficit entering the fourth quarter to two points with just under one minute left and an attempt at a go-ahead three-pointer in the final seconds, crucial turnovers and early foul trouble in the fourth quarter proved to be too much for the Mustangs to overcome.
The Mustangs (10-9, 6-3 Big West) were defeated in a close and physical Big West Conference Matchup versus the Rainbow Wahine (10-8, 7-2 Big West) with a final score of 63-59 on Saturday, Jan. 27 at Motts Athletic Center.
In the first quarter, both teams played a physical brand of basketball. The Mustangs played man-to-man defense and would send double teams to the post to ensure the Rainbow Wahine were having to work for their points in the paint.
On the other hand, the Rainbow Wahine were picking the Mustangs right up at half court, mixing their coverages between man-to-man and a two-three zone, and forced Cal Poly to generate scoring from the midrange and three-point arc. The quarter ended with a score of 11 to seven, with the Rainbow Wahine leading.
However, the Mustangs responded to their opponent’s game plan as the offense started to click on all cylinders from the get-go of the second quarter. Cal Poly started the second quarter on a 14-3 run that featured two-pointers and a layup from junior guard Sidney Richards and two three-pointers by junior point guard Annika Shah. The Mustangs led as much as seven points in the quarter.
Towards the last four minutes of the quarter, the spark for the Mustangs started to end as turnovers, fouls, and moving screens allowed the Rainbow Wahine to capitalize. Sophomore forward Imani Perez and junior forward Jacque David led the comeback for Hawai’i, as their size and presence in the paint allowed them to attack the paint with ease.
The Mustangs and Rainbow Wahine headed to the locker rooms tied at 22 a piece.
The third quarter for the Mustangs was just as rough as their last four minutes of the first half. Cal Poly’s lack of size continued to be an ongoing issue as Hawaii’s forward Imani Perez scored three consecutive shots in the paint.
Perez finished the game with 21 points. To make matters worse for the Mustangs, moving screens and ill-advised turnovers and fouls were keeping their offense from generating any type of momentum. By the end of the third quarter, the Mustangs compiled a total of five moving screens.
Before things began to unravel, Mustangs junior forward Sydney Bourland scored two jumpers and a layup to keep the Mustangs within six before the end of the quarter.
The Mustangs entered the fourth quarter trailing 41-35. The momentum that Bourland and the offense were able to generate towards the end of the third was short-lived just three minutes into the fourth quarter. The Mustangs committed 5 team fouls just three minutes into the fourth quarter. The Rainbow Wahine shot ten total free throws in the fourth quarter alone.
With just five minutes left in the game, the Mustangs were down 52-39 and head coach Shanele Stires called a timeout. The team came out of the huddle and went on a nine-to-zero run to cut the deficit to four with 4:24 left in the game. Bourland, senior forward Natalia Ackerman, and freshman guard Mary Carter led the run with layups, free throws, and a three-pointer.
The momentum started to shift once again towards the Mustangs favor who found themselves down 58-52 with two minutes left.
As the Mustangs were looking to continue to trim their deficit, a foul that resulted in guard Annika Shah receiving a bloody nose put the game on hold for several minutes. As Shah was taken to the sidelines for treatment, the officials decided to look at the instant replay to determine whether the foul fulfilled the criteria for a flagrant.
Just a few minutes later, the referees ruled the foul a common foul.
With play resuming, the Mustangs once again went on a 9-2 run from the 2-minute mark to about 44 seconds left in the game. The run featured layups from Sydney Bourland, Natalia Ackerman, and Sierra Litchie.
With 44 seconds left and a score of 60-59, the Mustangs had time for one more possession and an opportunity to win the game. After forcing the Rainbow Wahine to commit a shot clock violation, the Mustangs retained possession with 15 seconds left and coach Stires called a timeout.
On the last play of the game, guard Annika Shah was given an off-ball screen, received the ball at the top of the three-point line, and shot a potential game-winning three. The ball grazed the top of the rim and the Rainbow Wahine secured the rebound.
Although the Mustangs came out on the losing end of the contest, Sydney Bourland, who finished the game as Cal Poly’s leading scorer with 15 points, says the team’s slow start was the main contributor to the close loss.
“I would say our start, we can’t let them start on a 6-0 run,” Bourland said. “I think… really getting fueled by our defense…I think that’s what fueled us in the second half to like…comeback and get in the game again. We need to have that all throughout the game…which is playing our Cal Poly brand of basketball”.
With the loss, the Mustangs snapped a three-game winning streak and dropped to fourth place in the Big West standings. The team has an opportunity to get back on track on Thursday, Feb. 1, as they will head down to Irvine to take on UC Irvine at the Bren Events Center at 6 p.m.