CARSON – The Chico State women’s basketball team said goodbye to 2010 in winning fashion, though the Wildcats experienced some highs and lows on the way to a 71-59 victory over a scrappy Cal State Dominguez Hills squad Friday afternoon at the Torodome. After leading for most of the contest, the ’Cats fell behind the winless Toros 57-56 with 5:54 to play, but outscored Dominguez Hills 15-2 down the stretch to secure the victory and sweep their two-game southern California road trip.
Friday’s win improved Chico State’s season record to 9-1, and helped the Wildcats stay atop the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) standings with a 6-0 conference mark. With the loss, Cal State Dominguez Hills dropped to 0-10 overall and 0-6 in the CCAA.
Katie Girten led a balanced Chico State scoring attack, connecting on five 3-pointers to finish with a career-high 17 points. Molly Collins contributed 12 points for the Wildcats, while Courtney Hamilton posted single game career highs of nine points and six assists. Jazmine Miller added nine points for the ’Cats, while Taylor Lydon chipped in with seven. Tiffany Smith of Cal State Dominguez Hills led all scorers with 18 points, while Hillarie Grant knocked down five 3-points for the Toros en route to a 17-point performance.
The Wildcats shot 47.1 percent from the field, while knocking down nearly 45 percent of their 3-point attempts. The Chico State defense held the Toros shooters to just 37.9 percent on the afternoon – the ninth time in 10 games this season the ’Cats have held an opponent to less than 40 percent shooting.
After spotting Dominguez Hills a 3-pointer to start the contest, Chico State scored 13 of the next 18 points – Collins hit three shots, while Courtney Harrison delivered a layup and 3-pointer to give the Wildcats a 13-8 lead. Thanks to numerous Chico State turnovers, the Toros responded with an 11-4 run to go up 19-17, but the Wildcats had an answer of their own, and it was from behind the 3-point arc – four treys by Girten and one by Miller accounted for all of Chico State’s 15 straight points as the Wildcats charged out to a 32-19 advantage. Dominguez Hills refused to wilt, though, ending the half strong by scoring nine of the last 11 points, and the ’Cats had to be content with a 34-28 lead going into intermission.
The second half opened with a 3-pointer by Lydon, and a three-point play by Kristin Marquardt gave Chico State a seemingly comfortable 44-33 lead with 15:45 left to play. Dominguez Hills held the Wildcats without a field goal for nearly five minutes to climb back into the contest, and with the ’Cats still up by four, the Toros went on an 11-6 run to take a 57-56 lead with 5:54 to go. Chico State’s defense came through in crunch time, holding Dominguez Hills to just one field goal the rest of the way; meanwhile, the Wildcat offense reeled off 13 unanswered points down the stretch – a Hamilton three-point play put the ’Cats ahead to stay, Collins followed with a layup, Girten converted a layup and 3-pointer, and Hamilton drained two free throws to put Chico State up 69-57 with just over a minute left. Lydon knocked down a pair of free throws as time ran out, and the Wildcats came through with the 71-59 victory.
BOX SCORE
Chico State returns home to begin the New Year, hosting UC San Diego Friday, Jan. 7 and Cal State East Bay on Saturday, Jan. 8. Opening tip for both games is 5:30 p.m. at Acker Gym.
