CHICO, Calif. – Melissa Richardson led a balanced scoring attack with four 3-pointers and a career-high 19 points as the Chico State Wildcats defeated the Cal State L.A. Golden Eagles 73-48 Saturday at Acker Gym. The win improved the ’Cats season record to 8-7 and put the team back at .500 in the CCAA standings with a 4-4 mark.
Chico State fell behind 6-0 after missing four shots and committing four turnovers to start the game before Cory Edwards grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to get the Wildcats on the board. That started a string of four straight possessions in which Chico State scored for a 9-0 run that gave them the lead.
Cal State L.A. recovered momentarily to take the lead back at 10-9, but Samantha Oelsner came off the bench and made sure the Wildcats kept the momentum, dishing out four assists during a 12-2 run that put the Wildcats in control of the game for good. Richardson scored seven points during the run that gave the Wildcats a 23-12 advantage. She finished the half with 14 and the Wildcats went to the locker room with a 33-18 lead.
Intermission did little to help Cal State L.A. regroup as the Wildcats scored 11 of the first 17 points of the second half to increase their lead to 44-24. The Golden Eagles could get no closer than 16 the rest of the way – Natasha Smith scored eight of her 10 points during a 17-9 run that pushed the contest out of reach and sent Cal State L.A. (2-13, 1-7 CCAA) to its 11th loss in the last 12 games.
Richardson’s four 3-points Saturday gives the Junior from Issaquah, Wash. 83 treys as a Wildcat, moving her past Amy Van Hollebeke into 10th place on Chico State’s career 3-pointers list.
Richardson, Smith and Christine Vest (10 points) all finished the night in double figures, with Synchro Bull adding eight points, four rebounds and four steals.
Chico State is back in action Wednesday as they travel to face Cal State Stanislaus Wednesday. 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, located on the Cal State Stanislaus Athletics Web site.
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