SAN BERNARDINO – High percentage shooting and rebounding have been two of the main strengths so far this season for the Chico State women’s basketball team. Friday against Cal State San Bernardino, the Wildcat shooters continued their impressive trend, tickling the twine to the tune of 48 percent on the night…but rebounding was another matter altogether. The host Coyotes totally outmuscled Chico State on the boards, resulting in several second chance scoring opportunities, and San Bernardino’s dominance on the glass paved the way to a hard-fought 61-56 victory over the Wildcats at Coussoulis Arena in San Bernardino.
The loss – just the Wildcats’ second on the road this season – dropped Chico State to 10-3 overall and 7-2 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), knocking the ’Cats into a tie for fourth place in the conference standings. Cal State San Bernardino picked up its fourth straight victory to improve to 10-1 on the season and vault into a tie for second place in the CCAA with a 6-1 conference mark.
Courtney Harrison paced Chico State, connecting on three 3-pointers to finish with 13 points to go along with a career-high eight rebounds. Molly Collins was the only other Wildcat in double figures, scoring 10 points while grabbing six rebounds; Taylor Lydon and Pauline Ferrall contributed eight points apiece to the Wildcat attack. Cal State San Bernardino’s Sabrina Gonzalez led all scorers with 17 points, while Eisha Sheppard delivered 14 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the victorious Coyotes. For the game, San Bernardino outrebounded Chico State 41-33, and posted a huge 20-7 edge on the offensive boards.
The contest was tightly played in the first half, with Cal State San Bernardino leading most of the way. Chico State, thanks to a pair of 3-pointers by Lydon and Harrison, stayed close throughout the period, and used a 7-3 run to go on top 18-17 midway through the half – it would turn out to be the Wildcats’ only lead of the game. The Coyotes quickly went back in front and pushed their advantage to five, but a late Harrison 3-pointer whittled the deficit to a deuce, and San Bernardino had to be content with a 30-28 lead at intermission.
Chico State came out cold in the second half, scoring just four points in the first nine minutes. San Bernardino took advantage of the Wildcats’ brief shooting slump to go on an 11-2 run to stretch its lead to 43-32. The ’Cats suddenly heated up – a Collins layup and a Harrison 3-pointer bookended a 7-0 run that pulled Chico State to within four. Though the Wildcats held the Coyotes without a field goal for nearly five minutes, they continued to trail in the contest, though a Jazmine Miller three-point play made the score 46-44 with seven minutes to play. An 8-2 San Bernardino run gave the Coyotes a 54-46 lead, but the never-say-die Wildcats kept chipping away at the deficit – baskets by Lydon and Collins, a Kristin Marquardt free throw and a Katie Girten 3-pointer got Chico State to within a bucket with two minutes left. The ’Cats and Coyotes traded the next several baskets; a Marquardt layup with 45 seconds to go cut San Bernardino’s lead to 58-56. Sheppard hit a free throw to push the Coyotes advantage to three, giving Chico State the ball with 24 seconds left on the clock. But Girten’s potential game-tying 3-point attempt was blocked, and San Bernardino converted a pair of free throws to ice the game and come away with the 61-56 victory.
BOX SCORE
The Wildcats continue their weekend SoCal trek Saturday, traveling to Kellogg Gymnasium to take on Cal Poly Pomona. It’ll be another big game for the ’Cats – the 9-2 Broncos also moved past Chico State in the CCAA standings with a convincing 80-57 win Friday over Cal State Stanislaus. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.; the game will be broadcast on ESPN Radio 101.7 FM and 1340 AM locally, as well as on the Internet via the Wildcat Athletics website.
