CHICO, Calif. - New Chico State women's basketball coach Brian Fogel, formerly the men's head coach at UC Davis, has been telling anyone who will listen that there's really no difference in coaching men and women. There was certainly no difference in the result his team earned in his first game as head coach Thursday night. The Wildcats outmuscled, outhustled, and in the end, outplayed visiting Alaska Fairbanks in a hard-fought 68-64 win. Fogel, 89-49 as a men's head coach, is now 1-0 with the women.
The Wildcats battled from 12 points down in the second half despite the frustration of missing a number of shots from close range. They shot just over 29-percent for the game, but outrebounded Alaska Fairbanks 50-42, forced the Nanooks into 13 second-half turnovers and 20 for the game, and pounded the ball inside enough to get to the line to make 20-of-26 attempts.
The Nanooks, now 1-1, used a 6-0 run to end the first half to take a 32-30 lead at the half. They then knocked down their first four 3-point attempts in the second half to key an 18-8 run that stretched the lead to 50-38 with 14:17 to play. The lead was still as large as 59-52 with 4:07 remaining.
A Natasha Smith layup and two free throws by Renee Goldoff cut the defecit to 59-56, and after the Nanooks answered with a bucket of their own, Smith again trimmed the lead to three with a pair of free throws. Goldoff's hustle play, steal, and layup with 2:19 remaining cut the Fairbanks lead to 61-60. After Jessica Harrison made one-of-two free throws for Alaska Fairbanks, Melissa Richardson put the Wildcats in the lead for good by burying a long 3-pointer with just 1:34 to play. She also made two free throws with two seconds left to seal the victory.
Goldoff finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Smith scored a game-high 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting. The rest of the team combined to shoot just 14-for-58 (24 percent). Christine Vest pulled down 12 rebounds and grabbed a pair of steals. Cory Edwards finished with seven points and nine rebunds, and Richards finished with 10 points.
The Wildcats won their 15th straight home game in the process. They'll try to lengthen that streak Friday and Saturday when they host the Carl's Jr. Coslet Classic. The Wildcats face Dixie State Friday at 7:30 p.m., and will square off with Alaska Fairbanks again Saturday at 7:30.
Fogel was 89-49 in five seasons (1998-2003) as the head coach at UC Davis. He was Molly Goodenbour's head assistant last season as the Wildcats went 28-6, and when Goodenbour departed for UC Irvine this summer, Fogel was quickly brought in as her replacement.
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