CHICO, Calif. – The Chico State Wildcats put up their best offensive numbers of the season, and it turned out they needed every single point. The ’Cats held off several second half charges by a pesky Humboldt State squad to come away with a 76-72 victory over the Lumberjacks Friday night at Acker Gym. The win snapped the Wildcats two game losing streak, evening their record at 6-6 on the season and improving to 2-3 in the CCAA.
The Wildcats scored 11 of the game’s first 12 points and built a commanding 26-11 lead with 7:23 left in the first half. Humboldt used a 7-0 run to get back into the contest, and Chico State went into the locker room with a 37-30 halftime lead. Natasha Smith’s
layup to begin the second half pushed the ’Cats advantage to nine, but the Lumberjacks responded by scoring 17 of the next 23 points to go up 47-45 – the only time Humboldt would lead in the contest. Smith, Christine Vest and Melissa Richardson led Chico State on a 23-12 run to put the Wildcats back in front 68-59, but the Lumberjacks refused to go away, pulling to within two with just 30 seconds to play. The’Cats answered with a clutch layup by Cory Edwards, then with 10 seconds left Sam Oelsner drained a pair of free throws to ice Chico State’s 76-72 victory and hand Humboldt State (8-4, 3-2 CCAA) its 36th loss in 40 tries on the Wildcats home floor.
Smith was the’Cats high scorer on the night with 17 points, while Vest and Richardson chipped in with 15 apiece. Edwards figured prominently in the victory, scoring eight and dishing off a career-high seven assists. Renee Goldoff was held to just eight points, but pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. Chico State shot 49 percent from the floor and buried six three-point shots (three by Richardson) to rack up its fourth home win of the year. Humboldt’s Brittney Taylor was the game’s high scorer with 22.
The Wildcats are back in action Saturday as they host the Sonoma State Seawolves, who dropped a 65-57 decision to 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.
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