With a little over seven minutes to play in the third quarter Saturday, the Chico State women’s basketball team was nursing a 31-27 lead over Cal State East Bay when Wildcats guard Zhane Duckett was forced to leave the game with a rolled ankle. The Pioneers proceeded to outscore the ’Cats 22-9 to go up nine early in the fourth period, but East Bay didn’t expect Duckett to shake off the injury and return to the Chico State lineup. Duckett—the latest Wildcat of the Week—sparked a 22-6 run to torch her former team and lead the ’Cats to victory.
Duckett finished Saturday’s contest with a team-high 15 points—the most she has scored in her 14 games as a Wildcat. Nine of those points came in the decisive fourth quarter, when the Oakland native hit all three of her field goal attempts and was 3-for-3 from the free throw line, including two foul shots in the final seconds to put the game out of reach, giving Chico State a 62-55 win and helping raise the Wildcats record to 9-5 overall and 5-3 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA).
In her two games—Thursday against Cal State Dominguez Hills and the Saturday win vs. East Bay—Duckett scored a combined 24 points and was a perfect 11-for-11 from the foul line. She also pulled down eight rebounds, doled out four assists, and posted a pair of steals.
Duckett is averaging 9.1 points a game so far this season, and ranks fourth among all CCAA players with 44 assists.
Duckett and the Wildcats return to Acker Gym this week to take on Cal Poly Pomona Thursday evening, followed by a Saturday afternoon tilt against Cal State San Bernardino.
