Cal Poly women’s basketball team beats UC Irvine for first Big West win

The Cal Poly women’s basketball team earned its first Big West Conference win, beating UC Irvine 72-54 at the Bren Events Center on Saturday.

Sophomore guard Gabby Grupalo scored a career-high 25 points off the bench on 8-of-16 shooting, and had five rebounds and two steals for the Mustangs.

Grupalo averaged 3.0 points and just under six minutes a game entering Saturday’s contest, and eclipsed that mark, logging 31 minutes.

Hannah Gilbert had 11 points, a career-best 18 rebounds and two blocks, and Beth Balbierz added another 11 points for Cal Poly.

Gilbert leads the Big West in rebounding, averaging 9.9 a game.

The Mustangs held the Anteaters to 28 percent shooting.

Rae-Lynn Cheung Sutton led UC Irvine (3-13, 0-2) with 14 points and five assists.

Cal Poly hosts Cal State Fullerton next Saturday at 4 p.m.

This story was originally published January 9, 2016 at 7:46 PM with the headline "Cal Poly women’s basketball team beats UC Irvine for first Big West win."