The Seattle University women's basketball team fell 94-66 to Cal Poly Tuesday afternoon in San Luis Obispo, Calif. The Redhawks (3-13) struggled to gain offensive rhythm, while a strong and scrappy Mustang defense improved CP to 7-4 on the year.
The Redhawk offense was flat in the first half and the Cal Poly defense took advantage of it. The early minutes of the game seemed to be even keeled, but CP was able to take off on an early 10-5 run that materialized into a double-digit lead that was preserved for the remainder of the contest.
Cal Poly managed to gain a 22 point lead with 5:12 left in the first period behind 11 points from forward Kristina Santiago. In addition to Santiago scoring 11 of CP's 45 first period points, their bench contributed 19. For SU, sophomore Maggie McCarthy (Burlingame, Calif.) led the Redhawks with seven points and four defensive rebounds in the first half. The SeattleU forward grabbed down eight boards in the game, to lead the team, and scored 13 points for second-best on the day for SU.
Heading into halftime, SeattleU chopped down the Mustang lead to 15. Down 45-30, they seemed to have more energy throughout the lineup. McCarthy began to fluster the Cal Poly guards and forced them to make rash passes and turn the ball over, but it was not enough to shift the game's momentum to the SeattleU side.
Despite limiting Santiago to four second half points, five other Mustang players shot in double-digits on the day. Forward Becky Tratter knocked in 14 jumpers for second-best for Cal Poly.
Sophomore Elle Kerfoot (Surrey, B.C.) led both sides with 16 points. She had four defensive rebounds, dished out four assists and had three steals in 33 minutes of action. Both Ashley Brown (Kirkland, Wash.) and Julee Christianson (Missoula, Mont.) had eight points for SU, while Tatiana Heck (Mountlake Terrace, Wash.) had five boards, including four offensive rebounds.
"We were outhustled today in every aspect of the game," said head coach Joan Bonvicini. "I am really disappointed, because normally we come out, work hard and compete, but we didn't today. The better team beat us, but my job is to right the ship and we are going to right it very quickly."
The Redhawks will look to rebound and earn their first road win Wednesday, Dec. 29, at Loyola Marymount. Tip time is slated for 5 p.m. PT in Los Angeles, Calif.