CHICO – The Chico State women’s basketball team racked up three quick victories in a five day stretch just before Thanksgiving, but since their 79-64 win over Dominican University November 24th, the 3-0 Wildcats have had to wait for well over a week to get back on the court. This weekend the ’Cats finally return to action, opening up California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play with road tilts against San Francisco State on Friday and Cal State Monterey Bay on Saturday.
Chico State enters the weekend as the top scoring team in the CCAA, averaging 76 points a game, with several players among the conference’s individual statistical leaders. Sophomore Pauline Ferrall is tied for eighth in the CCAA in scoring (14.0 points per game) and fourth in rebounding (8.7 a night); senior Melissa Richardson (12.7 points per game) ranks 11th in the CCAA scoring race, while sophomore Synchro Bull (11.7 points) is 17th. Natasha Smith tops the conference in assists, averaging six dishes per contest. The Wildcats have four players – Ferrall, Richardson, Bull and Christine Vest – averaging over 10 points a game.
San Francisco State enters Friday’s contest with the ’Cats with a 3-3 season record, and like Chico State, has been idle for nearly two weeks – the Gators’ last game was a 60-43 victory November 24 over Cal Maritime. San Francisco State is led by senior guard/forward Andrea Ohlssen (11.2 points per game, 13 3-pointers on the season), senior forward Donisha Tate (10.8 points, 11.0 rebounds a contest) and senior forward Zalisha Oliver (one of the Gators’ top scorers last season, Oliver has played in just two games so far in 2009-10). San Francisco State averages 61.0 points a game as a unit, ranking eighth among CCAA teams. Chico State and San Francisco State split its two head-to-head meetings last season – the Wildcats beat the Gators on the road 51-49 on December 6, 2008, but lost 58-53 January 30 at Acker Gym.
Cal State Monterey Bay, which hosts Cal State Stanislaus Friday, enters the weekend 2-0 on the young season. The Otters will be seeing their first action in nearly two weeks – after dropping exhibition games to Santa Clara and University of Nevada, Reno, Cal State Monterey Bay won both its game at the Phoenix Inn & Suites Invitational in Monmouth, Oregon, beating host Western Oregon 66-58 November 20 and Northwest Nazarene 57-54 November 21. The Otters feature four players – junior guard London Houchin, senior forward Veronica Williams, junior forward Julie Heurung and junior guard Michelle Santizo – averaging nearly 10 points a game; Monterey Bay as a team ranks seventh in the CCAA in scoring (61.5 points a contest). The Wildcats and Otters split their two 2008-09 contests – Monterey Bay bested the ’Cats 50-46 at Seaside December 5, 2008, with Chico State downing the Otters at home 63-43 January 31.
Both Friday and Saturday games are slated to tip off at 5:30 p.m. Fans can follow the action with Mike Baca providing the play-by-play on ESPN 101.7 FM locally or on the Internet via the Wildcats Athletics website.
