Cal Poly Women’s Basketball Survives Scare

Cal Poly has relied upon its football and wrestling programs to bring the school some athletic pride.

The men’s and women’s basketball teams have always been like tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum, with programs as fragile as humpty dumpty cracking under pressure.

Any of us who follow Mustang basketball expects little to anything when it comes to the idea of playoff success. That is until this season, as both teams are playing at a high level in the Big West.

The number one seed Lady Mustangs accomplished something last night I have never seen from their basketball program, clutch play. Holding on to a 73-70 win at home over a gritty Cal st. Fullerton team, the Mustangs survived an epic collapse. Up seventeen with nineteen minutes to play, 47-30, the Mustangs went through various four or five minutes offensive droughts.

It is fair to say coach Minmaugh missed last seasons Big West player of the year Melissa Santiago. A sure handed post presence able to score low and get to the free throw during stretches such as these. Now more perimeter oriented, the Lady Mustangs are bound to go through these stretches and survive it with tough nosed defense.

Last night the defense was just not good enough. The Titans collected fourteen offensive rebounds and outscored the Mustangs 21-10 in second chance points.  A couple of threes at the six minute mark by Fullerton, cut the Mustangs lead to six.  Here we go. Depressing.

But reigning Big West Player of the Year Rachel Clancy assumed her rightful place as the best player in the Conference. With the Mustangs up one 71-70 with 1:26 play, Clancy stepped to the line hitting two huge free throws. A couple of missed opportunities to get the hoop by the Titans, assured fans that our Lady Mustangs would advance to the second round of the tournament against seven seeded Pacific. A team that upset two seeded UCSB 49-45 in the first round.

I will say this…if we play the way we played last night we will lose. But I got a feeling, Clancy and co. have survived their scare and have a real run in the tournament within them. Hope is a funny thing, isn’t it?