Northridge wins Big West women’s title

For the second time in its 23-year history as a Division I program, the Cal State Northridge women’s basketball team is headed to the NCAA tournament.

Ashlee Guay scored 25 points, Janae Sharpe added 17 and the Matadors defeated Cal Poly, 73-58, in the Big West title game Saturday at Honda Center.

“Every day is a championship day for us,” Matadors Coach Jason Flowers said. “The intensity never drops off, whether it’s a shoot-around or weights or conditioning. These young women have prepared for this moment for the past two or three years. I was interested to see how they would respond to being on the big stage. They woke up this morning in great spirits, they were really relaxed and I just stayed out of their way and they worked their tails off.”

Top-seeded Northridge (18-14) won the Big West tournament title for the first time in program history. Its only other NCAA tournament appearance came in 1999 as a member of the Big Sky Conference.

Guay, the conference player of the year, also had six rebounds and six assists and was named tournament MVP. Teammates Sharpe and Camille Mahlknecht joined her on the all-tournament team.

“It’s an overwhelming feeling to be a part of this history,” Guay said. “To be part of this with my team, coaches and trainers, it’s indescribable.”

The Matadors never trailed but had to hold on tightly against the second-seeded Mustangs (18-13), the defending conference tournament champion.

Led by the hot shooting of Ariana Elegado, Cal Poly cut a 20-point deficit to six at 62-56 with 4:23 remaining, but couldn’t get any closer.

Elegado scored 21 of her team-high 23 points in the second half and made five of seven three-point tries.

Even with her effort, the Mustangs shot only 34.1% from the field and were held to their third-lowest point total of the season.

“Today we competed, we just didn’t have our offensive game where shots were falling for us,” Cal Poly Coach Faith Minmaugh said. “Sometimes you have those games where nothing’s really falling for you. That was something we faced today.”