CARSON, Calif. – The Chico State Wildcats women’s basketball team, hoping to strengthen their chances of hosting a first round conference tournament game and climb up the regional rankings, came up short Saturday night against Cal State Dominguez Hills, as the Neka Mixon-led Toros scored 41 second half points to post a convincing 64-50 victory at the Torodome.
The Wildcats got off to a great start, using a Melissa Richardson 3-pointer and a layup by Cory Edwards to take a quick 5-0 lead. Dominguez Hills scored eight of the night’s next 10 points to go up 8-7, but a Renee Goldoff layup put Chico State back in front 9-8. Unfortunately for the ’Cats, their offense went completely silent for the next eight minutes as the Toros scored 13 unanswered points to take a 21-9 lead. Natasha Smith stopped the Wildcats scoring drought with a 3-point with 3:01 left in the first half, but Dominguez Hills kept Chico State at arms length the rest of the period and went into the locker room with a 23-14 halftime lead.
The Toros pushed their advantage to 11 to open the second half, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Richardson pulled the Wildcats to within 28-23. But with Natasha Smith on the bench in foul trouble, Dominguez Hills regained a double-digit lead, going up 37-26 with 11 minutes to play. Again the ‘Cats whittled down the deficit and trailed by just seven with 9:39 to go. Mixon, the CCAA’s leading scorer, then proceeded to take over the contest, and with the score 38-31, hit a pair of 3’s and a jumper to spur a 15-2 run to give the Toros a huge 53-33 lead. Chico State could get no closer than 12 the rest of the way, and Dominguez Hills cruised to the 64-50 victory, sweeping the season series with the ‘Cats.
Richardson led the Wildcats with 17 points, tying a career high with five 3-pointers on the night; Smith added 13 points while Goldoff scored 10 as Chico State slipped to 14-11 on the season and 10-8 in the CCAA. Mixon paced Dominguez Hills with 22 points, while Brittney Blankenship chipped in with 13 as the Toros improved to 17-8 overall and 12-6 in conference play.
Chico State returns to Acker Gym to wrap up the regular season this Wednesday and Thursday with games against Cal State Stanislaus and UC San Diego. Tipoff for both contests is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Mike Baca provides the play-by-play live on ESPN 101.7 FM locally or on the Internet via the Wildcats Athletics website. You can also follow the action with Live Stats on the Wildcats website.
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