Alicia Roufosse matched her career-high Saturday afternoon with a 17-point performance, while Cal Poly teammate Hana Vesela added 16 points, leading the Mustang women’s basketball team to a 69-58 Big West Conference win over Cal State Fullerton in Mott Athletics Center.
Roufosse, a junior forward from Abbotsford, B.C., went 6-for-12 overall (plus 5-for-8 from the free-throw line), and grabbed seven rebounds. The transfer from USF played 26 minutes in all, starting the second half after scoring seven of her points off the bench in the first half. Vesela, meanwhile, added an 8-for-14 shooting effort while also securing seven boards.
The Titans moved in front 6-4 on a free throw by senior center Daeja Smith midway through the opening quarter, but that was the most they would lead by all day.
Cal Poly (6-18, 3-10), after starting the second quarter down 11-10, regained the lead via a Roufosse mid-range jumper on the period’s first possession. Fullerton kept it close, however, heading to the break down only 28-27.
All of the entire game’s 10 lead changes & six ties, however, were had prior to intermission, as the Mustangs started the third quarter hot.
Senior forward Katie Nunnelley converted inside on Cal Poly’s first possession of the second half, followed by a 3 from sophomore guard Hannah Peterson to push the lead to 33-27. Nunnelley then added another basket in the paint, before Vesela sank a jumper just outside the key to cap a 9-0 run opening the second half, prompting a CSF timeout.
The Titans (12-13, 4-8) narrowed the deficit to just 44-40 to close the third quarter, and pulled as close as 48-45 thanks to an Amiee Book 3 with 1:14 elapsed in the fourth. Cal Poly answered with an 8-0 run, though, as another Roufosse jumper from outside the lane put the Mustangs ahead 56-45 with 5:52 remaining.
A Vesela jump shot with 3:13 left provided Cal Poly its largest lead of the game at 62-49. In all, the Mustangs held the lead for just under 28 minutes. Nunnelley tied her career-high with six assists. Sophomore guard Raina Perez and Book led the Titans with 16 points apiece.
Cal Poly senior point guard Dye Stahley distributed six assists, upping her career total to 334, surpassing Jody Hasselfield (1987-90) for No. 6 in school history. Stahley, who on Thursday night moved to No. 13 in school history for steals, claimed two more Saturday, placing her career total at 156 (now five back of No. 12 all-time).
The Mustangs will renew the Blue-Green Rivalry in the week ahead, visiting UC Santa Barbara in a crucial matchup for potential qualifying and seeding implications to the upcoming Big West Tournament, on Wednesday, Feb. 27. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at The Thunderdome.
–Provided by Cal Poly
