CHICO, Calif. - Renee Goldoff scored 27 points and pulled down eight rebounds and Natasha Smith buried three free throws with four seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime. One might think that would be enough, but a well-balanced Dixie State team snapped Chico State's 17-game home-court winning streak with a 70-68 victory on opening night of the 36th annual Carl's Jr. Coslet Classic.
The visiting Rebels (1-2) got 16 points from Jessica Carver, 14 from Courtney Boyd, 10 from Shanae Vaifanua, and eight apiece from Deney Phommabout and Jessie Ingraham. Chico State fell to 1-1 with the loss. Dixie State will take on Sonoma State, a 68-62 winner against Alaska Fairbanks in the tournament opener, in what amounts to the tournament title game Saturday at 5:30 p.m. Chico State will face Alaska Fairbanks at 7:30 in a rematch of Wednesday's 68-64 Wildcats victory.
The Wildcats exploded out of the gates to take an 18-8 lead in the first half in which every player on the active roster saw court time. Dixie State responded with a 17-6 run to take its first lead. Phommabout's jumper 11 seconds before the halftime buzzer gave the Rebels a 30-28 halftime advantage.
The lead changed hands eight times in the second half before Dixie State wrestled away control with Boyd's 3-pointer and a pair of Phommabout free throws that made it 58-53 with just over two minutes remaining. Smith's layup trimmed the lead to 59-57 with 16 seconds left, however, and after Vaifanua made one-of-two free throws, Smith was fouled on a 3-point attempt with four seconds to play in regulation. The sophomore calmly sank all three tries to send the game into overtime.
Two more Smith free throws gave Chico State its final lead, 62-60 with 4:30 to play. Vaifanua made consecutive baskets to put Dixie State back ahead, and while the Wildcats were missing a trio of shots and committing a turnover, the Rebels built the lead to 67-62 with 1:07 left. Smith's 3-pointer with 33 seconds left tand Goldoff made a pair of free throws with 21 seconds left to trim the lead to 69-68. After Phommabout made one-of-two free throws, the Wildcats had two chances to tie the game, but Molly Collins and Christine Vest both missed from close range before time expired.
Collins finished with four points and four assists, Vest had six points and eight rebounds, true freshman Synchro Bull notched a game-high five assists, and Cory Edwards had four poitns and seven rebounds.
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