CHICO, Calif. – Steady defense and four Melissa Richardson's threes propelled the Chico State women's basketball team to a 63-51 victory over visiting Cal Poly Pomona 63-51 Friday night at Acker Gym. In the process, the Wildcats won for the 51st straight time after limiting their opponent to fewer than 60 points. Richardson buried 4-of-5 threes and led all scorers by matching her career high of 16 points.
Chico State has now allowed fewer than 60 points four times in a row and in eight of its 14 games this season. As a result, the Wildcats are ranked No. 18 in the nation and boast an overall record of 11-3 and a California Collegiate Athletic Association mark of 4-1. The Wildcats hope to do it again Saturday when CCAA leader Cal State San Bernardino comes to town with a perfect 5-0 conference mark and sole possession of first place on the line. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30.
Cal Poly Pomona had won four of its last five games entering the weekend, but fell to 5-6 overall and 2-3 in the CCAA with the loss. Chico State stymied the Broncos offense throughout the game, limiting them to 27 percent shooting in the first half and 33 percent in the game. They also forced the Broncos into 22 turnovers while limiting them to just four assists. Vanessa Dominguez, Cal Poly Pomona’s leading scorer entering play at 13.9 points per game, was limited to eight points. Meanwhile, the Broncos starters combined to shoot just 8-for-37.
Jade Smith-Williams helped lead the Chico State defense with three steals, while Amanda Monteith blocked a pair of shots.
Smith-Williams scored 10 points, while Monteith contributed eight. Richardson and Cory Edwards paced Chico State on the glass with five rebounds apiece, while Natasha Smith led the way with four assists.
Chico State built its lead to 25-15 over the game’s opening 15 minutes and never saw that lead dip below 10 points. A pair of Audriana Spencer free throws in the waning seconds of the first half gave Chico State a 31-19 cushion heading into intermission.
The Wildcats’ lead was as large as 17 on five different occasions and then Richardson made a 3-pointer to make it 48-30 with 8:55 to play. Cal Poly Pomona cut it to 10 on three separate occasions, but could never get closer.
Chico State has now beaten Cal Poly Pomona eight straight times to tie the overall series up 14-14.
Spencer finished with six points to bring her career total to 1,064 and draw her to within five points of former teammate Michelle Pietka, who ranks seventh on Chico State’s career scoring list.
Official Basketball Box Score
Cal Poly Pomona vs Chico State
01/11/08 5:30 at Acker Gym - Chico, Calif.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: Cal Poly Pomona 5-6, 2-3 CCAA
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
04 McVICAR, Sarah...... * 0-2 0-0 0-2 1 0 1 1 0 0 4 0 0 23
05 ANDERSON, Unique.... * 2-7 0-0 3-5 2 1 3 4 7 2 2 0 0 20
14 REED, Natasha....... * 2-8 0-0 1-1 2 5 7 0 5 0 1 1 2 24
20 OHLSSEN, Andrea..... * 1-9 1-3 0-0 0 0 0 3 3 0 3 0 0 21
32 DOMINGUEZ, Vanessa.. * 3-10 0-2 2-2 2 4 6 3 8 0 3 0 4 35
02 BRICK, Cassey....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 6
10 MOODY, Ashley....... 3-6 1-1 3-4 2 3 5 3 10 0 2 0 4 20
23 PINEDA, Anna........ 1-4 0-0 2-4 2 0 2 1 4 0 0 0 0 10
24 GUTIERREZ, Shannon.. 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 2 0 1 0 1 3
25 COLSON, Reyana...... 5-9 0-0 0-0 2 2 4 2 10 1 3 0 0 20
34 KIRKSEY, Porsche.... 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 2 4 2 2 1 1 2 0 12
40 JOSHI, Neha......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 6
TEAM................ 2 3 5
Totals.............. 19-58 2-6 11-18 18 20 38 22 51 4 22 3 11 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 8-30 26.7% 2nd Half: 11-28 39.3% Game: 32.8% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-4 25.0% 2nd Half: 1-2 50.0% Game: 33.3% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 2-3 66.7% 2nd Half: 9-15 60.0% Game: 61.1% 4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: Chico State 11-3, 4-1 CCAA
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
03 SMITH-WILLIAMS, Jade * 4-6 0-1 2-2 0 1 1 0 10 2 4 0 3 28
11 SMITH, Natasha...... * 1-4 1-4 0-0 2 0 2 3 3 4 4 0 2 24
21 RICHARDSON, Melissa. * 5-9 4-5 2-5 1 4 5 1 16 1 3 1 1 33
22 MONTEITH, Amanda.... * 3-8 0-1 2-2 0 3 3 3 8 0 4 2 0 18
24 SPENCER, Audriana... * 2-4 0-1 2-2 2 1 3 1 6 1 1 1 1 29
12 FOSTER, Brandi...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1
20 LYDON, Taylor....... 0-2 0-2 2-2 0 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 6
23 OELSNER, Sam........ 0-2 0-0 4-4 1 0 1 2 4 0 0 0 0 8
33 GOLDOFF, Renee...... 1-2 0-0 1-1 1 2 3 1 3 3 2 0 0 11
40 WASHINGTON, Ashley.. 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 4
41 EDWARDS, Cory....... 2-5 0-1 3-3 1 4 5 0 7 2 2 0 0 20
42 VEST, Christine..... 1-5 0-0 2-2 0 3 3 2 4 1 1 0 0 18
TEAM................ 2 3 5
Totals.............. 19-47 5-15 20-23 10 23 33 17 63 14 22 5 7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-22 50.0% 2nd Half: 8-25 32.0% Game: 40.4% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-4 25.0% 2nd Half: 4-11 36.4% Game: 33.3% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 8-8 100 % 2nd Half: 12-15 80.0% Game: 87.0% 1,1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials: Mark Wilson, Johnny Person, Anette Tracy
Technical fouls: Cal Poly Pomona-None. Chico State-None.
Attendance: 585
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Cal Poly Pomona............... 19 32 - 51
Chico State................... 31 32 - 63
Chico State, ranked No. 18 in the nation, wins eighth straight against Cal
Poly Pomona. Melissa Richardson leads the way, matching her career-high with
16 points. Chico State hosts first place Cal State San Bernardino Saturday at
5:30. A win would put the Wildcats in a tie for first.
Points in the paint-CPP 26,CSUC 20. Points off turnovers-CPP 17,CSUC 23.
2nd chance points-CPP 19,CSUC 2. Fast break points-CPP 2,CSUC 4.
Bench points-CPP 28,CSUC 20. Score tied-0 times. Lead changed-4 times.
Last FG-CPP 2nd-00:00, CSUC 2nd-03:06.
Largest lead-CPP by 1 1st-13:35, CSUC by 18 2nd-08:55.
