CHICO – Like most everyone, the members of the Chico State women’s basketball team will celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday. But before feasting on a traditional turkey dinner, the Wildcats hope to take a bite out of another type of bird on Tuesday, as Chico State travels to San Rafael to take on the Penguins of Dominican University in a non-conference matchup beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the Conlan Center.
The Wildcats enter play 2-0 on the season and 1-0 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). Chico State is coming off an exciting 62-59 win last Friday over Colorado Mesa, as Jazmine Miller connected on a game-winning 3-pointer with just 21 seconds left to play.
Chico State currently ranks fifth in the CCAA in scoring, averaging a combined 68 points a game. The Wildcats have been shooting the ball well in the early going, and are second in the conference in both field goal percentage (46.4 percent) and free throw percentage (84.6 percent), and third in 3-point field goal percentage (43.5 percent).
Individually, Miller is tied for sixth in the CCAA in scoring (16.5 points a game), and leads the conference in steals (4.0 per game) and free throw percentage (converting all 10 of her foul shots). Synchro Bull is 14th among CCAA players, averaging 13 points a contest, while Makenzie Dalthorp is in a five-way tie for 13th in the conference in rebounds, averaging six boards a night. Ymonne Davidson-Mays tops the CCAA in 3-point field goal percentage with a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc.
Dominican University, which finished 8-18 last season and in fifth place in the Pacific West Conference with a 6-10 record, is 0-4 so far in 2011-12. The Penguins opened the season with losses to Cal State East Bay and Humboldt State in the Nov. 11-12 CCAA/PacWest Challenge, then dropped back-to-back contests last weekend to Alaska Anchorage.
Dominican features only six returning players from last year’s team, but three of them were starters in 2010-11. The Penguins are led by sophomore guard Kayla Valentine, averaging 13.8 points in the first four games of the season, including a 21-point performance last Saturday against Alaska Anchorage. Junior forward Jasmine Green is averaging just under eight rebounds a night, while freshman center Lauren Hyatt has contributed 5.3 points and four rebounds a game to the Dominican attack.
Tuesday marks just the second time the Chico State and Dominican women’s teams have met on the hardwood. In their only other matchup, the Wildcats beat the Penguins 79-64 Nov. 24, 2009 at Acker Gym.
Tuesday’s game will be broadcast live locally on Newstalk 1290-AM, KPAY and
online through the Wildcat Athletics website; Mike Baca will provide the play-by-play.
