[Box score] [Cal State Dominguez Hills presser] [Cal Poly Pomona presser]

Whatever was coach John Bonner's halftime message, he needs to remember those words exactly, as they lit a fire under his Toros team. Top-seeded Cal State Dominguez Hills held just a one-point lead at the half, but in the third quarter, they outscored No. 8 Cal Poly Pomona 22-4 and rolled to an 87-61 victory in the first round of the NCAA West Regional.
 
Nala Williams' double-double led four Toros in double-figures. She went 9-of-19 from the field and made four 3-pointers en route to setting a career-high with 26 points. She also grabbed 11 rebounds (five offensive), dished out seven assists, and had five steals to just one turnover.
 
Joe'l Benoit came off the bench to knock down four 3-pointers, while Deejanae Poland and Asia Jordan each posted 11 points. Breanne Ha paced the Broncos with 19 points and five 3-pointers. Donja Payne came off the bench with 18 points and nine rebounds.
 
Cal Poly Pomona controlled much of the first half, going up by as many as 10 points (39-29) midway through the second quarter. With 3:49 remaining, CSUDH went on a 17-3 run to take back the lead. A 3-pointer by Ha before the half ended the run, but it did not take momentum away from the Toros.
 
Cal State Dominguez Hills scored 22 of the first 25 points in the third quarter. The Toros' defense limited the Broncos to just 1-of-10 shooting in the half as they extended their one-point halftime lead to a 19-point advantage going into the fourth quarter. CPP would not get closer than 15 points the rest of the way.
 
The Toros finished the second half shooting .516 from the field (16-of-31) and held the Broncos to 5-of-25.
 
This was the first win for Cal State Dominguez Hills in an NCAA West Regional since the 1994-95 season.
 
CSUDH will face No. 4 seed Montana State Billings in the regional semifinals on Saturday, Mar. 11 at 7:30 p.m.