Back on January 13, the Chico State women’s basketball team suffered its most lopsided loss of the season, falling 76-60 to Cal State San Marcos. Head coach Brian Fogel knew that for the Wildcats to get back on track, his veteran players would need to step up and provide a team-wide spark. Enter Haley Ison—the junior forward quickly rose to the task with aggressive and productive play on both ends of the floor, figuring prominently in Chico State’s back-to-back road wins against San Francisco State and Cal State Monterey Bay. Ison’s gritty efforts make her the latest Wildcat of the Week.
Ison scored a combined 15 points and pulled down a team-high 20 rebounds in Chico State’s victories over the Gators and Otters, helping the Wildcats improve to 7-6 on the season and jump all the way from 11th place to a tie for fifth in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with a 4-4 conference record.
Thursday in San Francisco, Ison began the game by knocking down a jumper from behind the arc, accounting for three of her seven points in the Wildcats’ 63-58 win over the Gators. More importantly, the Laguna Niguel native hauled in a team-high 10 rebounds in 27 minutes of action as Chico State also won the battle of the boards 41-38.
Saturday against Cal State Monterey Bay, Ison was again a force in the paint. In 33 minutes of play, she grabbed 10 more rebounds—including four on the offensive end—and provided lock-down defense while scoring eight points, dishing out an assist, and posting two steals as the ’Cats downed the Otters 63-49.
Overall, Ison is averaging 7.4 points and 5.9 rebounds a game—both career highs. She has scored at least 10 points in four of the Wildcats’ 13 games on the season.
Ison and the Wildcats embark on the back end of their four-game road stretch this week, traveling to Arcata to take on Humboldt State (5:30 p.m. tip-off) before traveling to Rohnert Park Saturday to face Sonoma State Saturday at 1 p.m.
