CHICO, Calif. – Chico State notched one of its biggest wins of the season Saturday, using a smothering zone defense to neutralize Cal Poly Pomona, while Natasha Smith and Melissa Richardson combined for 30 points as the Wildcats downed the visiting Broncos 50-43 at Acker Gym.
Pomona, second only to UC San Diego in the CCAA standings and riding a five-game winning streak, built an early 11-4 lead, but the ’Cats battled back to move ahead 15-14 with eight minutes left in the first half…Richardson leading the way with a pair of 3-pointers. The Broncos re-took the lead and pushed the advantage to six, but Christine Vest scored the last three points of the half and Pomona had to settle for a 24-21 lead at intermission.
In the second half, the Wildcats’ zone defense completey choked off the lane and forced Pomona to stay on the perimeter, and as a result the Broncos hit only seven of 31 shots in the final 20 minutes. Two Jasmin Thomas free throws put Chico State up 31-29 – and it was a lead the Wildcats would not relinquish. Pomona got as close as 35-34 with nine minutes to play, but would commit two turnovers and misfire on nine straight shots over the next seven minutes…meanwhile, the ’Cats took firm control of the contest with an 11-1 run, as Vest, Renee Goldoff, Taylor Lydon and Annelise Miller all contributed two points; Richardson capping off the run with a 3-point bucket with 1:52 to play. Two late free throws by both Smith and Richardson effectively salted the game away, and Chico State came away with the 50-43 victory to put the Wildcats squarely in the CCAA tournament picture.
Smith led all scorers with 17 points, with Richardson adding 13 and Vest collecting nine points and six rebounds for Chico State, who with its third straight win improves to 12-9 on the season and 8-6 in conference play. Ponoma was paced by Emily Nichols with 13 points and Reyana Colson chipped in with a dozen, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Broncos from falling to 14-9 on the season and 10-4 in the CCAA.
The Wildcats will hit the road next weekend, traveling to Rohnert Park Friday, Feb. 13 to take on Sonoma State, then on Saturday, Feb. 14 the ’Cats visit the Humboldt State Lumberjacks. Tipoff for both games is 5:30 p.m. Hear all the action with Mike Wessels calling the play-by-play on ESPN 101.7 FM in Chico or via the Internet on the Wildcat Athletics website.
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