Cal Poly Pomona Women No Problem for West Texas St., 73-56

It was billed as a matchup of the top two teams in NCAA Division II women’s basketball, but Friday night’s quarterfinal playoff game wound up as a showcase for top-ranked West Texas State.

With forward Vanessa Wells scoring 26 points and center Teresa Tinner adding 17, the Lady Buffs rolled to a surprisingly easy 73-56 win over second-ranked Cal Poly Pomona before 2,087 fans at Kellogg Gym in Pomona.

The victory improved West Texas State’s record to 32-0 and moved the Lady Buffs into the Division II final four for the first time. They will meet the winner of tonight’s Delta State-New Haven game in the semifinals next week.

Pomona Coach Darlene May, who had guided the Broncos to the final four the last three seasons, was disappointed with her team’s play but was quick to credit West Texas.

“They’re a very good team, no doubt about it,” she said. “They didn’t do anything we didn’t expect. They just did it well and we didn’t execute.”

May said it was the Lady Buffs’ full-court press, which helped force 20 Pomona turnovers, troubled the Broncos the most.

The Broncos, who trailed 32-28 at halftime, stayed close to West Texas early in the second half before the Lady Buffs opened up a 46-32 lead with 13:09 left in the game.

West Texas shot 62% in the second half and 56.1% in the game, led by the hot shooting of Wells. The senior made 11 of 15 field-goal attempts.

Meanwhile, Pomona had one of its worst shooting efforts of the season, hitting on only 37%.