CHICO, Calif. – Over the years, Chico State has built a reputation of being extremely tough to beat at home – especially in conference play. That didn’t seem to intimidate Cal State Dominguez Hills, as the visiting Toros downed the Wildcats 63-55 Friday night at Acker Gym, snapping the ’Cats 16-game in-conference home winning streak.
Both schools came into the contest with modest winning streaks and looking to move up in the CCAA standings. Early on the game had the earmarks of being a shootout, as Melissa Richardson drained a pair of 3-pointers in the first minute to give Chico State an 8-5 advantage. The Wildcats led by as many as six during the opening 12 minutes of the first half, but with the score 19-16, Dominguez Hills went on an 11-0 run – including seven straight points from Junior center Teriana Loftin – to go up 27-19. The ’Cats responded with a run of their own, outscoring the Toros 9-2 in the final 3:30 to go into the locker room trailing the Toros 29-28 at halftime.
Dominguez Hills immediately took control in the second half, using a balanced offensive attack and 55 percent shooting to push its lead to double digits with 15 minutes to play. The Wildcats whittled the Toros advantage to three when a pair of Christine Vest free throws made the score 45-42…but Dominguez Hills immediately answered with a Kayla Mantalvo 3-pointer and would go on to outscore the ’Cats 18-4 to build a comfortable 17 point lead. Chico State scored the game’s last nine points to make the final score respectable, but it was the Toros (9-5, 4-3 CCAA) who would win the contest 63-55 for their third straight victory and fifth in the last six games. The Wildcats (7-7, 3-4 CCAA) saw their two game winning streak go by the boards as Chico State suffered its first conference home loss since February 3, 2007, when the ’Cats were beaten at Acker Gym by UC San Diego 80-63.
Melissa Richardson was the game’s top scorer, matching her career high with 18 points. Richardson also connected on four 3-points to give Melissa 79 as a Wildcat, tying her with Amy Van Hollebeke for 10th place on Chico State’s all-time career 3-pointers list. Neka Mixon led Dominguez Hills with 14 points and Aujanee Baldwin added 10 for the victorious Toros.
Chico State is back in action Saturday as they host the Golden Eagles of Cal State Los Angeles, who dropped a 63-55 decision at Cal State Stanislaus Friday. Tipoff is at 5:30 p.m. Follow the action with Mike Baca on ESPN Radio 101.7 FM in Chico and on the Internet via the Wildcats Athletics website. You can also follow the game with Live Stats, also located on the Wildcats website.
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