Cal Poly freshman forward Kristina Santiago reaches for a rebound during the Mustangs’ 77-57 loss to UC Santa Barbara.
Instead of playing cheerleader, Suderman can be found 20 feet behind the bench, grinding away on the stationary bike in hopes of keeping her worn-down knees warmed up for another run.
The former Mission Prep star didn’t make any monster runs against her hometown college Friday but showed she still has some mileage left on those tired legs, shutting down Cal Poly’s post players and ending the Mus-tangs’ stirring run in the Big West Conference Tournament.
Suderman finished with six points but, more importantly, held Kristina Santiago and Megan Harrison in check during the 77-57 victory at the Anaheim Convention Center.
The win put an end to the Mustangs’ best run in the tournament, winning two games for the first time and advancing to the semifinals for the first time in seven years.
Cal Poly (13-19) was trying to do what no other Big West team has done in the tournament — win four games in four days to
take the title and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time.
Instead it was perennial power UC Santa Barbara (22-7) advancing to the championship game for the 14th time, shooting for its 12th title today against UC Davis.
“We knew coming in that when Cal Poly plays well it’s because their post players were scoring, and that’s what was happening in their first two (tournament) games,” Suderman said. “So we came into the game really focused on being able to stop them and take them out of their own game.”
Santiago, who averaged 18 points in her previous four games, scored the Mustangs’ first four points but did not score again until 11:12 was left in the game when Suderman was riding her bike.
Santiago, from Santa Maria, finished with nine points. Harrison had eight. The two combined for 32 points in an overtime loss in Santa Barbara on Feb. 16.
“I thought (Suderman) did a nice job of not letting what was going on at the offensive end deter her from stopping Cal Poly’s magnificent post players from getting up and down the court,” UC Santa Barbara head coach Mark French said, “and getting layups like they did against us in The Thunderdome.”
Top-seeded UC Santa Barbara, which hadn’t played in six days, showed no signs of rust in the semifinal round and hit 46.8 percent of its floor shots and 41.7 percent from long range. The Gauchos led from Lauren Pedersen’s 3-pointer on the opening possession and never looked back, taking a 49-30 lead at halftime.
Cal Poly, which overcame a 19-point deficit in a quarterfinal win over Pacific, tried to mount another comeback against the Gauchos but never got closer than 15 points in the second half.
Rebecca Tratter was the lone Mustang in double figures, finishing with a career-high 18 points and eight rebounds. The sophomore forward scored 13 of Cal Poly’s 30 points in the first half.
“Santa Barbara, as far as their pressure defense goes, really took us out of our game,” Cal Poly head coach Faith Mimnaugh said. “Their intensity and their physicalness really frustrated us and got us out of our flow.”
Friday’s loss marked the final game for four Cal Poly seniors — guards Sparkle Anderson, Kyla Howell, Toni Newman and forward Nicole Yarwasky.
Anderson, a fifth-year senior who missed much of last season with a knee injury, set a school record by appearing in her 118th game. The San Diego product scored a season- high 18 points in the quarterfinals but was held to nine Friday.
The 5-foot-2 Anderson admitted the previous two games took their toll on the Mustangs, and that the Gauchos’ suf focating defense didn’t make things any easier on Cal Poly’s weary legs.
“Our reversal pass wasn’t there because they were doing a good job of denying it real hard so it got us out of our motion and transition offense,” Anderson said. “It just had us a little flustered, and we needed to calm down and move the ball a little bit better.”
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