As hard as each member of the Chico State women’s basketball team works, Ashtyn Anderson has had to work that much harder. A balky knee has robbed the sophomore forward of one season and resulted in limited minutes thus far in 2014-15, but her determination to shake off the injury and contribute to the ’Cats’ cause has made the Fontana native respected by both teammates and fans. Saturday, playing her first extended minutes of the season, Anderson provided some clutch rebounding to help Chico State pull off a huge second half comeback and a near-win against Cal State Stanislaus. Her big-time effort on the boards makes Anderson the latest Wildcat of the Week.
In just 11 minutes of action, Anderson snared a career-high 10 rebounds – all in the second half – while scoring two points and posting a pair of steals. She was particularly effective in the contest’s final four minutes, grabbing six boards and scoring her first bucket of the season as the Wildcats whittled an eight-point deficit down to one. Anderson nearly registered the game-winning assist, but the ’Cats buzzer-beating shot was off the mark, and Stanislaus held on for a 72-71 victory.
Anderson is now averaging 2.5 rebounds a game this season, but also a remarkable average of 20 rebounds per 40 minutes of action.
Anderson and the Wildcats return from the holiday break to resume California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play Jan. 2-3 with road tilts against Cal Poly Pomona and UC San Diego.
