CHICO, Calif. – Despite coming into the contest averaging a CCAA-worst 55 points, the visiting San Francisco State Gators combined just enough offense and dug in on defense down the stretch to post a big 58-53 road win over the Chico State Wildcats Friday night at Acker Gym.
San Francisco State had lost six of its last seven entering play, and early on it looked like the Wildcats would have little problem with the Gators. Playing without starting center Renee Goldoff, who was out with the flu, Chico State still jumped out to a 13-3 lead as Melissa Richardson and Synchro Bull combined for 11 points. But the Wildcats could only score nine points in the final 10 minutes of the first half, allowing San Francisco State to battle back and shave the lead to two; Chico State eventually taking a 22-20 advantage into halftime.
San Francisco State used a 10-0 run to open the second half to take a 30-22 lead, but two minutes later the Wildcats had whittled the Gators advantage to three. With the score 32-27, Chico State went on a 10-3 run to retake the lead; Richardson hitting a big 3-pointer with eight minutes left to put the Wildcats on top 37-35. The lead went back-and-forth until ZaLisha Oliver’s three-point play with 3:14 left put San Francisco State ahead to stay. The Gators offense couldn’t quite deliver the knockout punch, but used six offensive rebounds in the waning moments to keep the ball of Chico State’s hands, and with time winding down, the Wildcats were forced to foul. Six free throws pushed San Francisco State’s advantage to eight, but Natasha Smith kept the game interesting and kept the ’Cats alive by nailing a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute to make the score 56-53. Chico State was forced to foul again, and with five seconds left, Desiree Butler knocked down a pair of free throws to seal the Gators’ 58-53 win and send the Wildcats to their second straight defeat.
Smith led Chico State with 17 points while Richardson dropped in 16, but the ’Cats shot just 29 percent on the evening. Oliver collected 18 points for the Gators and led all scorers; Butler added 12 points and Krystle Mays chipped in with 11. Friday’s loss saw Chico State fall to 9-9 on the season and 5-6 in the CCAA…San Francisco State improved to 10-8 on the season and 4-7 in conference play.
The Wildcats are back in action Saturday as they host the Otters of CSU Monterey Bay. Tipoff is 5:30 p.m. Hear all the action with Mike Baca calling the play-by-play on ESPN 101.7 FM in Chico or via the Internet on the Wildcat Athletics website. You can also follow the action with Live Stats, located on the Wildcats website.
Box Score
