LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The Chico State women’s basketball team got off to a fast start and led from wire-to-wire, but still had to fight back a second half surge by Cal State L.A. to beat the Golden Eagles 69-59 Friday at the Eagles Nest.
Over the past three games, the Wildcats had put up paltry offensive numbers in the first half, but Head Coach Brian Fogel’s team fired out of the blocks Friday by scoring the game’s first seven points and quickly stretching their advantage to 13-5. Cal State L.A. battled back to pull to within two, but with the score 18-16 Chico State went on a 16-5 run (Natasha Smith and Renee Goldoff combining for 13 of the 16 Wildcats points) to go up 34-21 at halftime.
The ’Cats pushed their lead to 16 early in the second half, but the Golden Eagles once again made a big charge, outscoring Chico State 30-16 to pull to within a bucket at 54-52 with six minutes to play. The Wildcats answered by pushing the lead back to eight, using jumpers by Smith and Goldoff and four Christine Vest points to go up 60-52. Cal State L.A. could get no closer than four the rest of the way; Smith nailing a jumper with 44 seconds left to effectively seal the ’Cats 69-59 victory – Chico State’s fifth win in its last six games.
Smith posted a double-double, leading the Wildcats with 19 points and a career-high 12 rebounds; Goldoff poured in 18 points and grabbed eight boards; Vest chipped in with 11 points and seven rebounds, and Taylor Lydon contributed by hitting two of the four Chico State 3-pointers on the night. With the win, the Wildcats improve to 14-10 on the season and 10-7 in the CCAA. Jazzi Johnson and Joy Mason each had 14 points to pace Cal State L.A., who with Friday’s loss fell to 4-20 on the season and 3-14 in conference play.
Chico State is back in action Saturday, taking on Cal State Dominguez Hills in the Wildcats final road game of the regular season. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Hear all the action with Mike Baca calling the play-by-play on ESPN 101.7 FM locally or on the Internet via the Wildcats Athletics website.
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