"Credit is due to Cal Poly, they are a veteran team that played well," said head coach Joan Bonvicini. "We had moments where we played hard, but we didn't play smart. Salena (Dickerson) had a good game, but we could never put it together as a team. We had several newcomers playing at a time, which means we are getting our chemistry together. It is going to take time, but we can play better than we did."
Senior transfer Dickerson (Federal Way, Wash.) led the Redhawks with 21 points and 11 boards. She was nearly perfect from the charity stripe, going 8-for-9, and was 6-for-13 from the field.
In the first half, Dickerson gave the Redhawks an immediate 2-0 lead, but Cal Poly's Rachel Clancy responded with a jumper of her own on the Mustang's next possession. Early in the game, both sides transferred the lead, but at 16:08 Cal Poly took off third lead of the game and never looked back.
Seattle U's offense went nearly two minutes without scoring, which Cal Poly extended their lead to eight during the Redhawk point drought. Junior Elle Kerfoot (Surrey, B.C.) broke SU back onto the board and made it a five point game, 15-10, at 14:11 left in the half.
Behind as many as four newcomers on the floor at a time, the young Seattle U team was able to garner a defensive surge. They held the Mustangs off the board for over a minute. Despite their defensive advantage, they were unable to translate it into points.
After a 5-1 run from Cal Poly, Amani Butler (Corona, Calif.) cut down the Mustang's lead to eight behind a solo drive to the basket. Butler ignited several defensive steals and offensive runs for the Redhawks as the first half came to a close, but SU struggled to translate her efforts into points.
Butler would go on to be the second top scorer, with 10 points. She had four steals and three boards in 33 minutes of work.
Seattle U worked to chip down the Mustangs' growing lead, but their 22.2 (6-for-27) field goal percentage in the first half did not allow for their offense to find fluidity on the floor. On the other end of the floor, Cal Poly shot over 50 percent from the field (17-for-30), seeing both Abby Bloetscher and Clancy score in double-figures to head into halftime.
After going into halftime down 41-21, they came out of the locker room more energized. They worked to chop down the Mustang lead, cutting it down to 13 off a 5-0 run from Dickerson. CP stymied the Redhawks offensive momentum behind a three-pointer from Ashlee Burns.
As play in the second half progress, SU saw the Mustangs' lead swell as high as 19, but they continued to fight to chop it down. Five consecutive points by Dickerson and Daidra Brown (Seattle, Wash.) cut down Cal Poly's lead to 14. During that 50 second run, Seattle U played as a unit, but could not sustain it.
Cal Poly's quick and aggressive defense was relentless and the Redhawks could not continue to breakdown their lead further. With less than five minutes left in the half, the Mustangs saw their point advantage grow as high as 24. Seattle U worked to combat their point deficit, but was unable to make a last ditch run to cut down CP's lead.
The silver lining was there for Bonvicini's second season debut. Her young squad made up of six newcomers, all of which saw time in the game, played until the end. They did not give up, even when their shots were not landing and Cal Poly made their scoring drives seem routine. In the game, Seattle U shot 15-for-61 (24.6 percent) from the field, while Clancy's 18 points guided the Mustangs to a 54.1 field goal percentage (33-for-61).
Seattle U will look to bounce back on Sunday, Nov. 14, versus Cal State Fullerton. Tip time is slated for 1 p.m.