No. 21 Women’s Basketball Continues Hot Start, Bishop Becomes Winningest Conference Coach in Program History
ARCATA, Calif. – Head coach Danelle Bishop made history on Saturday afternoon, claiming her 197th conference victory as head coach at Cal Poly Pomona. This win makes Bishop the winningest conference coach in school history, passing Darlene May, who had 196 conference wins in her historic 20-year career from 1974-94.
Bishop still has a long way before reaching May's 520-career win mark, as the current CPP coach has 258 wins in the Green & Gold since the 2010-11 season. Including stops at Azusa Pacific and California Baptist, Bishop now has 396 total wins in her coaching career. However, in conference wins alone, Bishop now stands alone at the top in program history, and looks to become the second women's basketball coach in conference history to surpass the 200-CCAA win mark in the coming weeks.
— Cal Poly Pomona Broncos (@cppbroncos) January 12, 2025Most conference wins in program history 🗣️
Congratulations to head coach Danelle Bishop for passing Darlene May with her 197th conference victory!
Bishop's teams are now 197-90 in CCAA games in her career at CPP 📈#WeAreCPP pic.twitter.com/KF8xjHC5Dj
Sydney Nelson turned in her 12th consecutive game with double-digit scoring, leading the team with a season-high 23 points en route to the win. The sophomore out of Eastvale continues to rank Top 10 in the CCAA this season in scoring, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and minutes played.
Veteran leaders Kalaya Buggs and Breanne Ha also contributed double-digit performances to the scoresheet, each making two treys and going a combined 8-for-8 from the free throw line. The Broncos shot an impressive 90 percent (18-for-20) from the charity stripe against the Lumberjacks, their highest in a game since shooting 93 percent on December 9, 2023.
Cal Poly Humboldt shot better from both the field and beyond the arc, as they made a season-high 12 threes as a team. However, CPP dominated points of turnovers, 18 to 11, and points inside the paint, 30-16. Mydrea Moore nearly had a double-double with a team-leading 10 rebounds and nine points, while Cookie Marques made two free throws. Uncharacteristically, only the five starters scored for CPP in the win, as normally most of the roster finds their way onto the scoresheet.
In the end, the Broncos' 20 points in the fourth quarter helped close out the 66-61 win, their 12th of the season and seventh in conference play.
Cal Poly Clash
Saturday afternoon's matchup between Cal Poly Pomona and Cal Poly Humboldt was the first iteration of the Cal Poly Clash for women's basketball, a new year-long rivalry between the two athletics departments across 10 CCAA-sponsored sports.
For men's and women's basketball, the team that claims the most head-to-head wins in a given season will claim the full point toward the rivalry. If the teams split the season series (e.g. one to one), then each will receive half a point. The Broncos currently lead 5-0 out of 10 possible points thanks to a strong fall, securing at least a tie of the rivalry during the inaugural season. CPP can claim the rivalry win as early as the basketball postseason.
Up Next
The Broncos will return home next week to face Cal State Monterey Bay (3-11) and Stanislaus State (4-10) in Kellogg Arena.
Bronco Bits
- The Broncos are now 19-15 (.531) all-time against Cal Poly Humboldt, including 6-4 in their past 10 games.
- Danelle Bishop is now 258-134 (.658) as head coach of the Broncos, including 197-90 in CCAA play. Including two previous stops at APU and CBU, Bishop is 396-219 all-time as a head coach.
- Record Watch – Breanne Ha needs just 12 more threes to pass Anna James (1999-03) for most three-point field goals made in school history (215).
- The team's 12-2 start is their best since the 2018-19 season.
Latest All Athletics News
- Mueller Named CSC Academic All-American®Already one of the greatest setters in school history, senior Caitie Mueller added to her distinguished Cal Poly Pomona career on Tuesday morning being named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America Second Team. Mueller is the first CPP volleyball student-athlete to earn the award in 36 years, as Gayle Deisinger was the last to receive the distinction during the 1988 season.
- Kalaya Buggs Named CCAA Player of the WeekCal Poly Pomona's Kalaya Buggs has been voted the FloCollege/CCAA Women's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 6-12.
- Cal Poly Clash VictoryIn an exciting Cal Poly Clash showdown, the Cal Poly Pomona Broncos came out on top, defeating the Cal Poly Humboldt Lumberjacks 75-69. This victory moved the Broncos closer to claiming the Cal Poly Clash title, earning them 0.5 points.
- Broncos Battle to the Finish, but Chico State Wins in OvertimeThe Cal Poly Pomona Broncos fell just short in a thrilling 83-81 overtime loss to the Chico State Wildcats in an intense and back-and-forth contest.
- Danelle Bishop Ties Darlene May for Most CCAA Wins in Program History With Big Overtime Victory in ChicoHead coach Danelle Bishop reached a notable milestone with the win on Thursday night, tying coaching legend Darlene May for the most CCAA wins in program history with her 196th conference victory. Bishop, now in her 14th season (15th year) as head coach of the Broncos, owns a career conference record of 196-90, good for a .685 winning percentage. Bishop is already the second-winningest coach in program history behind only May, and with one more win, will become the program's all-time leader in CCAA wins.
- Tara Oper of Cal Poly Pomona Named the DII Honda Athlete of the Year Award Finalist for SoccerCal Poly Pomona senior Tara Oper has been named a finalist for the DII Honda Athlete of the Year for Soccer, as announced today by Chris Voelz, Executive Director of The Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) presented by Honda.