SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (Interstat) — Cal Poly’s women’s basketball team defeated non-divisional Whittier 61-33 on Thursday at Robert Mott Gym, using a decisive second-quarter run to turn a tight opening stretch into a comfortable victory in a women’s NCAA Division I game. The Mustangs improved to 2-0 this season before an announced attendance of 447 at California Polytechnic State University. Cal Poly finished with 61 points from 67 possessions and an offensive rating of 90.9, adding 13 offensive rebounds, 17 assists, four blocks and 12 turnovers. The Mustangs’ pressure defense and depth eventually wore down the visitors after a competitive first quarter.

Whittier opened with energy and briefly controlled the early pace. Shushan Krikorian made a layup 28 seconds into the game, and Yaneli Rosales Beltran followed with a 3-point field goal to give the visitors a 5-2 lead. Cal Poly answered through Avery Knapp’s jump shot and Mecca Alexander’s layup, and Ella Skrzyniarz hit a 3-point jump shot to tie the score at 9. Alexia Valencia made two free throws to push Whittier ahead 11-9, but Maddy Tauro’s layup tied it at 11. Kennedy Perkins added a jump shot and Lesina Afu scored inside with 2:01 remaining in the first quarter for a 15-11 Whittier advantage. Cal Poly closed the quarter with six consecutive points, getting a jump shot from Dessirae Ulmer and two straight baskets by Tauro to take a 17-15 lead into the second quarter.

The Mustangs took over from there. Knapp opened the second-quarter scoring with a jump shot off a turnover, and Tauro added a layup to extend the margin. Whittier’s Afu answered with a layup, but Cal Poly kept pressuring the paint and the free-throw line. Ulmer scored off another turnover and made two free throws, Tauro added two more layups, and Madison Butcher connected on a 3-point jump shot from the wing. Sumer Lee’s layup made it 34-20, and Alexander’s free throw completed the surge and sent Cal Poly into halftime with a 35-20 lead. The second quarter proved to be the most important stretch of the game, as Whittier managed only five points in the period while the Mustangs repeatedly converted turnovers and second-chance opportunities into points.

Cal Poly kept the pressure on at the start of the third quarter. After Whittier’s Perkins made one free throw, the Mustangs scored eight straight points on an Ulmer layup, a Butcher layup, a Gabby Robinson layup and a Knapp layup, pushing the lead to 43-21. Whittier received a jump shot from Krikorian, but Robinson answered with another layup. Knapp made two free throws, Lee made one free throw and Cal Poly held a 49-29 lead entering the fourth quarter. Whittier got late baskets from Aliya Latif, Lanakila Nitta and Afu during the third, but the Mustangs’ defense and rebounding kept the visitors from mounting a sustained run. Ulmer and Knapp controlled the boards throughout, and Robinson’s back-to-back layups helped stretch the margin. The burst came after Whittier had trimmed the lead to 35-21, and Cal Poly’s response effectively put the game out of reach.

The fourth quarter followed a similar pattern. Butcher made a 3-point field goal, Ulmer scored on a jump shot and layup, Knapp added a layup and Lee made a free throw as Cal Poly protected its advantage. Whittier’s Afu scored once more in the lane, and Jayden Borgna made two free throws, but the Mustangs closed the scoring on Alexander’s layup with less than a minute remaining. Cal Poly’s defense forced Whittier into difficult shots over the final 10 minutes, and the Mustangs’ lead never dipped below 20 points. The Mustangs kept rotating players and maintained their defensive intensity down the stretch.

Ulmer led Cal Poly with 13 points, eight rebounds, one assist and two blocks in 25 minutes. Knapp finished with 10 points, nine rebounds, one assist and one block in 18 minutes, while Tauro added 12 points, one rebound, five assists and one block in 24 minutes. Butcher contributed eight points and five rebounds in 29 minutes, Lee had six points, three rebounds and one assist in 30 minutes, and Alexander added five points and three rebounds in 20 minutes. Robinson chipped in four points and two rebounds in 18 minutes, Ysabella Von Seipler had three rebounds and one assist in 20 minutes, and Ella Skrzyniarz made a 3-point field goal on the way to three points and one assist in 12 minutes.

Whittier’s best moments came early and in short bursts. Krikorian scored on a layup and made free throws to keep the visitors close in the first quarter, while Afu scored on consecutive interior possessions in the second and third quarters. Rosales Beltran’s early 3-pointer gave Whittier a brief lead, and Perkins and Nitta also connected on jump shots. But the visitors could not match Cal Poly’s depth or rebounding, and the Mustangs’ 17 assists and four blocks helped them control the second half. Cal Poly also protected the ball well enough to offset its 12 turnovers, and its 13 offensive rebounds created extra possessions that wore down Whittier. Eight Cal Poly players scored, with five reaching at least five points, a balance that made the Mustangs difficult to defend. Whittier’s early shooting gave it confidence, but Cal Poly’s size and rebounding eventually took control.

Cal Poly’s season-opening win over UC Merced and Thursday’s victory give the Mustangs a 2-0 record. The Mustangs are next scheduled to visit Idaho State, then host Seattle. Their upcoming schedule also includes road games at UCLA and Washington, home games against Cal State Northridge and UC Santa Barbara, a home game against Eastern Washington, road games at Utah Tech and Stanford, and a home game against UC Riverside.