CHICO – All season long, basketball coaches stress to their teams the importance of making free throws – and in a physical, foul-heavy game, making those charity tosses could mean the difference between winning and losing. Such was the scenario Saturday at Acker Gym – the Chico State women’s basketball team could not buy a bucket for the final 5:17, but the Wildcats came up huge at the foul line when it counted most, as Analise Riezebos, Courtney Hamilton and Jazmine Miller knocked down seven late free throws – five in the final minute – to hold off a scrappy and determined Cal State L.A. squad and emerge with a hard-earned 63-60 victory.
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The win was the second straight and third in the last four games for the ’Cats, who improved to 13-5 on the season and stayed tied with UC San Diego for fourth place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with a 10-4 conference mark. The hard-luck Golden Eagles dropped their sixth straight decision and ninth in the last 10 contests to fall to 6-12 overall and 3-11 in CCAA play.
Courtney Harrison led a balanced Chico State scoring attack, hitting a trio of 3-pointers on the way to a 13-point night; Riezebos added 11 points, while Molly Collins and Kristin Marquardt chipped in with nine apiece. The Wildcats pulled down a season-high 63 rebounds, just three shy of the Chico State single-game record. Taylor Lydon led the way with 11 boards; Riezebos grabbed nine rebounds, while Collins and Harrison collected eight apiece. The Golden Eagles’ Lacy Ramon posted a double-double in the losing effort, scoring a game-high 24 points while hauling in 10 rebounds. The physical, fast-paced game featured 43 fouls between the two teams and a combined 60 free throws.
Chico State got off to a great start Saturday, evenly distributing the offense as seven players scored in the first nine minutes of the opening half. Harrison and Katie Girten each buried a 3-pointer as the Wildcats built an 18-8 lead, but with Lydon and Kristin Marquardt getting into early foul trouble, Cal State L.A. crept back into the contest, outscoring the ’Cats 13-5 to pull to within 23-21. Marquadt nailed back-to-back jumpers to push the Chico State advantage back up to six, but the Golden Eagles converted six free throws in the final two-and-a-half minutes to close the gap once again, and the Wildcats had to be content with a 29-27 halftime lead.
The second half saw both the Wildcats and Golden Eagles take numerous trips to the free throw line, as the personal fouls piled up at an alarming rate. A Riezebos jumper gave Chico State a 36-31 lead early in the period, but Cal State L.A. refused to fold, outscoring the ’Cats 16-11 over the next seven minutes to tie the game at 47-all. Harrison put the Wildcats back in front with her third 3-pointer of the night, and a Riezebos layup with 5:17 to play upped Chico State’s lead to 56-52. A basket by Ramon cut the deficit to two, and from there on out the game turned into a battle of free throws – Riezebos hit a pair of charities to put the Wildcats up 58-54, but Sonia Miller answered with four foul shots to pull Cal State L.A. even with 1:03 to play. Hamilton provided the last minute heroics for Chico State, hitting a pair of free throws to put the ’Cats back in front, then after the Golden Eagles tied it up again, Hamilton found her way back to the line and calmly sank two more from the charity stripe with 12 seconds left to give the Wildcats a slim 62-60 lead. Cal State L.A. had a chance to win it, but Gretchen Tiernan’s wide-open 3-pointer with five seconds remaining clanked off the rim, and Miller added one last free throw to complete the scoring and give Chico State the thrilling 63-60 victory.
BOX SCORE
The Wildcats are back in action Thursday, traveling to Rohnert Park to take on Sonoma State in the first of four straight road games. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
