Northridge Walloped by Pomona in CCAA Final

With a possible NCAA Division II playoff berth at stake, Cal State Northridge needed a strong performance against Cal Poly Pomona in the championship game of the women’s California Collegiate Athletic Assn. tournament Saturday night.

A win or a close loss would have bolstered the Lady Matadors’ stock with West regional selectors.

But after a 79-47 shellacking by Pomona at Cal State Bakersfield, Northridge (11-18) might have hit rock bottom.

Playing one of their worst games of the season, the Lady Matadors hit 25% of their shots from the field and committed 12 turnovers in the first half on their way to a 39-13 deficit. Things only got worse as Pomona, ranked second in Division II, took a 67-26 lead with 11 minutes 28 seconds left.

Trailing, 10-6, with 13:43 remaining in the first half, Northridge missed 13 consecutive shots while Pomona (25-3) hit 11 of 19 to take a 32-6 lead with 4:03 left.

A basket by Julie Arlotto with 3:47 left stopped the Broncos’ 22-0 stampede, but the damage had been done.

“That was just a terrible experience,” Northridge Coach Leslie Milke said. “We didn’t get any calls or breaks. Everything just seemed to go against us.

“Nothing positive went on out there. It was just a very negative experience.”

Pomona center Niki Bracken inflicted the most pain, scoring a game-high 20 points--16 in the first half--on 10-of-17 shooting.

“I just got into a flow early,” said Bracken, the CCAA tournament and regular-season most valuable player. “It just felt like everything was going to go in.”

Not so Northridge, which shot 26.2% from the field.

Denna Mulverhill scored 13 points but made only three of 12 shots; Arlotto added 12 on six-of-16 shooting.

All-tournament selection Sandi Olson, who scored 20 points in the Lady Matadors’ semifinal victory over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on Thursday, had 12 against Pomona but only two in the first half.

“With a young team like ours, the first few minutes are extremely crucial,” Milke said. “We need to get off to a good start. If we don’t, we’re in trouble, especially against a team like Pomona.”

Northridge will find out today whether it is in the tournament.