Posted on Fri, Mar. 12, 2010

The Cal Poly women’s basketball team likely saw its season come to an end Friday afternoon, falling to UC Riverside, 54-51, in the semifinals of the Big West Conference Tournament at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Second-seeded Cal Poly (18-11), which received a double-bye to open its postseason on the third day of the tournament, was outscored 26-23 in the second half.

UC Riverside (16-15) advanced to Saturday's championship game to face top-seeded UC Davis.

Shooting guard Rachel Clancy led the Mustangs with 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting, along with a game-best 12 rebounds, while junior forward Kristina Santiago, recently named the Big West Player of the Year, added 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting.

Brittany Waddell paced third-seeded UC Riverside (16-15) with 12 points.

Cal Poly was 21-of-46 shooting, while UC Riverside was 20-of-58.

The Highlanders, who had an 11-2 advantage on second-chance points, withstood a considerable second-half rally by the Mustangs, who were down by as many as 10 with just under 11 minutes to play.