SAN RAFAEL – The Chico State women’s basketball team faced a Dominican University team Tuesday that had lost its first four games this season by a combined total of 149 points. What on paper looked like a dream matchup for the Wildcats turned into a nightmare, as the Penguins built a 14-point second half lead, then withstood a late Chico State rally to down the ’Cats 51-48 at the Conlan Center.
Tuesday’s disappointing loss dropped Chico State to 2-1 on the season, while Dominican improved to 1-4 overall.
Chico State suffered through its worst offensive performance of the young season, shooting just 28.3 percent from the field. Natasha Smith led the Wildcats with 13 points while grabbing seven rebounds. Jazmine Miller scored nine points, Ymonne Davidson-Mays contributed six points and seven rebounds, and Crystal Sewell added six points and a team-high eight boards. Arian Flynn and Melissa Wise led a balanced Dominican scoring attack with nine points apiece.
Dominican totally dominated the first half, committing just five turnovers and holding the Wildcat offense to just 27 percent shooting. Smith scored six points and five rebounds to lead Chico State in the opening period, with Miller tallying five points and Davidson-Mays adding four points and five rebounds, but it didn’t stop the Penguins from building a double-digit lead late in the half. A layup by Davidson-Mays just before the end of the half trimmed Dominican’s lead to 28-19 at intermission.
The Penguins picked up where they left off in the second half, scoring the first five points of the period to go up 33-19. A layup by Miller and a 3-point play by Sewell highlighted a 9-2 Chico State run to pull the Wildcats to within 35-28 with 11 minutes to play, but Dominican answered with back-to-back treys to go back up by 13. The Penguins still possessed a double-digit lead, 45-34, with 8:30 to go, when the ’Cats’ defense finally clamped down, holding the Penguins scoreless for over seven minutes. Chico State’s offense struggled to capitalize during the stretch, scoring just nine points but still cutting the deficit to 45-43 with two minutes left.
The Wildcats had two chances to tie it up, but came away empty, and Jasmine Green’s layup with under a minute to play pushed the Penguins lead to 47-43. A Synchro Bull jumper got the Wildcats back to within two, but two free throws apiece by Green and Kimi Nakamura in the final seconds put Dominican up 51-45. Courtney Harrison drained a clutch 3-pointer to cut the deficit in half, but the Penguins ran out the clock and hung on for the 51-48 upset victory.
BOX SCORE
Chico State will take the rest of Thanksgiving week off, but returns to California Collegiate Athletic Association play Dec. 1, when the Wildcats travel to the Bay Area to take on San Francisco State.
