CHICO – Just about every decent success story includes a bump or two somewhere along the road. The theory certainly holds true for the Chico State women’s basketball team, which is currently in the midst of its first serious dip of the 2010-11 campaign. After winning nine of their first 10 games, the Wildcats have dropped three of the last four, slipping into fifth place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) standings. With their next four games at Acker Gym, the ’Cats have a golden opportunity to turn things around and get back on the road to success, but will face a pair of tough challenges this weekend when they host San Francisco State Friday and conference leader Cal State Monterey Bay on Saturday. Both games are scheduled to tip off at 5:30 p.m.
Chico State is 10-4 overall and 7-3 in conference play, thanks to a pair of losses last weekend in southern California. The Wildcats dropped a 61-56 decision to Cal State San Bernardino on Jan. 14, then were rolled by Cal Poly Pomona 62-42 the following night. Saturday marked the low point of the Wildcats’ season – besides losing by 20 to the Broncos, Chico State shot just 31 percent from the field and posted the lowest single game point total of any Wildcat team since a losing to UC San Diego 62-38 back on Jan. 24, 2009.
Despite this tough stretch, the Wildcats have a solid chance to jump right back into the mix of upper-tier conference teams. The ’Cats are entering a potentially fortuitous portion of the schedule, with six of their next seven CCAA opponents currently sporting sub-.500 records.
The Wildcats enter the weekend ranked sixth in the CCAA in scoring, averaging 64.3 points a game, and boast the conference’s fifth-best defense, allowing just 58.7 points a contest. Chico State remains the CCAA’s most accurate 3-point shooting team, hitting 38.8 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc, and is third in overall field goal percentage (41.8) – only UC San Diego has more than the ’Cats’ 92 3-pointers on the season. Chico State also ranks second in the conference in assists (15.7 a game) and fourth in rebounding (38.4 a contest).
Individually, Courtney Hamilton is second in the CCAA in assists (4.8 a game), while Courtney Harrison – the Wildcats’ leading scorer at 8.9 points a game – is third in the conference with 30 3-point buckets. Taylor Lydon tops the CCAA in 3-point field goal percentage (46.0), and Molly Collins continues to be one of the conference’s top free throw shooters, converting 93.1 percent of her charity tosses.
San Francisco State, Chico State’s Friday night opponent, comes to Acker Gym a lowly 1-13 on the season and tied for 11th place in the CCAA with a 1-9 conference mark. The Gators, with eight freshman on their 12-person roster, are mired in a 10-game losing streak, which includes a pair of setbacks last week against Sonoma State (46-37 on Jan. 13) and Humboldt State (56-48 on Saturday). San Francisco State has been a lot more competitive, though, than its record indicates – the Gators lost a pair of close contests to conference leader Cal State Monterey Bay earlier in the season and dropped a tight seven-point decision to fourth place Cal State San Bernardino on Dec. 30. The Gators are 0-6 on the road this season.
San Francisco State doesn’t generate much offense – the Gators have yet to score 60 points in a game this season, and are averaging a CCAA-low 43.9 points per contest. What San Francisco State does excel in is defense: the Gators have limited opponents to a stingy 54.9 points a game – third-best among CCAA teams – and are second in the conference in blocked shots (2.1 a contest).
Senior center Dominique Hunter is far and away San Francisco State’s top player, averaging 10.2 points, 2.4 blocks and a CCAA-best 11.2 rebounds a game (Hunter scored 21 rebounds and grabbed 16 boards against Chico State Mar. 2 in the first round of last season’s CCAA Championship Tournament). She is complemented by freshman guards Erica Greer and Angela Van Sickel, who have combined to hit 25 3-pointers so far this season.
Chico State leads the all-time series with San Francisco State, 61-20, and has won 14 of the last 15 head-to-head matchups dating back to 2004. The Wildcats won all three meetings last season, beating the Gators 67-46 Jan. 9 in San Francisco, 49-43 Jan.3 at Acker Gym, and a 72-62 CCAA Championship Tournament victory Mar. 2 in Chico.
On the other end of the conference spectrum, Cal State Monterey Bay, which comes to Chico following its Friday matchup against Cal State Stanislaus, is perfect so far on the season, entering the weekend with a 14-0 record and sitting atop the CCAA standings with a 10-0 conference mark. The Otters have yet to lose in seven road tilts – last week Monterey Bay took down Humboldt State 72-64 Jan. 13 in Arcata, then went to Rohnert Park to beat Sonoma State 63-55 on Saturday. Of the Otters’ 14 wins, seven have been by 16 points or more.
The Otters possess a talented offense, ranking fifth in the CCAA with an average of 65.3 points a game, and are among the top five teams in the conference in field goal percentage (42.0) and 3-point field goal percentage (33.7). But Monterey Bay’s main strength is easily its defense, allowing just 50.3 points a contest – the best of any CCAA team. Opponents are shooting just 32.7 percent against the Otters this season.
Monterey Bay likes to spread the offense around – while no individual is ranked in the CCAA top 30 in scoring, the Otters have no less than seven players who are averaging between six and nine points a game. Senior guard LaShawn Johnson is averaging 8.4 points a game, as is junior guard Erika Ward, who leads Monterey Bay with 26 3-pointers. Senior guard Michelle Santizo has knocked down 22 treys while averaging 7.1 points and 3.4 assists a game, and senior center Julie Heurung is the Otters’ low-post threat, averaging 7.1 points and 5.5 rebounds a contest while blocking a team-high 22 shots.
Chico State took both meeting with Monterey Bay last season, and both by large margins – the Wildcats hammered the Otters 71-52 Dec. 5, 2009 in Monterey, then posted a 71-44 victory Jan. 29 at Acker Gym. Chico State has won 11 of 12 all-time against Monterey Bay.
Wildcat fans can follow both Friday and Saturday games via Live Stats, available on the Chico State Athletics website. The games will also be broadcast live on ESPN 101.7 and 1340 AM locally, as well as through the Wildcat Athletics website, with Mike Baca and Mike Wessels providing the play-by-play.
