Scrappy Cal Poly women’s basketball team fights to the final whistle

IRVINE — It took a last-second shot from one of the top players in the Big West Conference to end the Cal Poly women’s basketball season.

Facing third-seeded Long Beach State in the second round of the Big West Conference Tournament on Wednesday night at Bren Events Center, the Mustangs showed time and again they wouldn’t go quietly.

They withstood a 17-5 run by the 49ers to start the third quarter. The full-court pressure defense that made Long Beach State one of the most disruptive defensive teams in the country was largely ineffective in the final period.

Senior point guard Lisa Marie Sanchez calmly made two free throws to tie the score with 19 seconds remaining, giving the 49ers one final chance to win a thrilling back-and-forth contest.

Enter first-team all-conference guard Raven Benton.

The 5-foot-10 junior made a fade-away jump shot with 0.6 seconds left on the clock, propelling Long Beach State to a 54-52 victory and a berth into Friday’s semifinals against No. 2 seed Hawaii.

“All three games that we had with Cal Poly this year have been battles all the way down to the end,” Long Beach State head coach Jody Wynn said. “It was no different (Wednesday night).”

While it’s never easy to see the season come to an end, the Mustangs delivered a resilient performance on the conference’s biggest stage. Each of Cal Poly’s best qualities was on display at different times against an aggressive opponent that ranks among the top-10 nationally in turnovers forced per game.

Senior guard Beth Balbierz — held scoreless in the first-round victory over CSUN — played through a difficult shooting performance to finish the final contest of her career with a game-high 17 points.

The fifth-year senior from Folsom went 6 of 17 from the field, grabbed six rebounds and handed out two assists before fouling out in 35 minutes. Over the course of her 118-game career, Balbierz tallied 148 made 3-pointers, including 67 this season.

“Beth Balbierz has been a rock, steady senior for us who we rely on for everything,” an emotional Faith Mimnaugh said. “Transition defense, defense, offense, communication. She’s just been a bit of a stud this year.

“I’m sad to see her career come to an end.”

Though replacing the production of Sanchez and Balbierz next season will be a challenge, there were several encouraging signs from Cal Poly’s underclassmen throughout the week.

Sophomore guards Dynn and Lynn Leaupepe were nothing short of superb. Dynn Leaupepe continued the torrid pace she set throughout February with a 30-point outburst against CSUN on Tuesday.

Despite early foul trouble, she contributed 11 points, four rebounds and four assists in the loss to Long Beach State. Lynn Leaupepe pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds and scored six points before fouling out in 30 minutes.

“The foul trouble was obviously impactful as well,” Mimnaugh said. “Having two of our starters on the bench at the end of the game was tough for us.”

Second-team all-Big West forward Hannah Gilbert played through considerable pain to give the Mustangs 12 points and five rebounds in 32 minutes. She also played 27 minutes against CSUN just three days after sitting out the regular season finale at Hawaii.

The 6-foot-3 Morro Bay graduate has been dealing with a lower leg injury that was perhaps more serious than Gilbert let on.

“We saw her still working, even to the point of tears because of the pain she has endured through the season,” Mimnaugh said. “For her to come out today and log as many minutes as she did, and play as well as she did, I think is quite a tribute to her and how she represented us.”

While Gilbert figures to be the focal point of Cal Poly’s offense heading into her senior season, Mustang fans should be encouraged about the group as a whole.

Junior Amanda Lovely developed into an elite rebounder late in the season.

Freshman Dye Stahley and sophomore Gabby Grupalo both showed flashes of being capable replacements for Sanchez at the point guard position

And the Leaupepe sisters.

The 5-foot-8 sophomore guards from Camarillo have an intriguing blend of size and speed with an uncommon energy on the court. They started the final eight games of the season together, providing Cal Poly a glimpse of what could be a lethal one-two punch in the years to come.

“Cal Poly is tough,” Wynn said. “The Leaupepe sisters are so strong and physical and talented and play really, really hard.”

The same could be said for all the Mustangs Wednesday night.

“We did a lot of things well,” Mimnaugh said. “But our fight is what I’m most proud of.”

This story was originally published March 10, 2016 at 12:08 PM with the headline "Scrappy Cal Poly women’s basketball team fights to the final whistle."