CHICO, Calif. – A case of stomach flu sidelined Renee Goldoff Friday, but Saturday she bounced back with a solid 16-point performance, and with Natasha Smith contributing a career-high nine assists, the Chico State Wildcats posted a convincing 63-43 victory over CSU Monterey Bay at Acker Gym.
Dana Andrews’ 3-pointer opened the scoring and put the Otters out in front, but it was short-lived – the Wildcats responded by scoring the next 10 points to take a lead they would never relinquish. Annelise Miller provided some big numbers off the bench, scoring six points and hauling in four rebounds to help Chico State extend its lead to 12, and the Wildcats defense held Monterey Bay to just six field goals in the first half. The Otters went on a quick 5-0 run to close the gap and the ’Cats had to be content with a 26-19 halftime lead.
Monterey Bay stayed within seven through the first four minutes of the second half, but with Natasha Smith setting up Melissa Richardson and Taylor Lydon for 3-point buckets and feeding Goldoff and Cory Edwards for layups, Chico State pushed its lead to 49-35. The Otters could get no closer than 12, as the Wildcats went on a 14-8 run to close out the contest – Synchro Bull scored seven points down the stretch and Smith added three more assists to give Chico State the convincing 20-point victory, snapping the ’Cats two-game losing streak.
Goldoff’s 16 points led the Wildcats, while Smith collected 14 points and eight rebounds to go along with her nine assists. Andrews was the lone Otter in double figures, leading all scorers with 18 assists. With Saturday’s win, Chico State improves to 10-9 on the season and 6-6 in the CCAA; CSU Monterey Bay falls to 9-9 on the season and 4-8 in conference play.
The Wildcats will be at home next Friday and Saturday against teams they lost on the road to earlier this month by a combined total of five points. Friday, Feb. 6 Cal State San Bernardino visits Acker Gym, and on Saturday, Feb. 7 Chico State hosts the Broncos of Cal Poly Pomona. Tipoff for both games 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.
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