SEATTLE – The Chico State women’s basketball team knew its had to bring it’s A-game up to Seattle to compete with two of the best teams in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference – and not only did the Wildcats compete, they turned in their most productive weekend of the young season by sweeping the CCAA/GNAC Challenge, beating Western Washington on Friday, then using a big second half Saturday night to down host Seattle Pacific, 77-72, at Royal Brougham Pavilion.
Saturday’s win, Chico State’s second in a row, moved the Wildcats to 5-2 on the season. Seattle Pacific, which dropped its first preseason tournament game ever at Royal Brougham Pavilion, fell to 6-3 overall.
Synchro Bull led the Wildcats with 19 points, seven rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals, earning CCAA/GNAA Challenge MVP honors. Jazmine Miller also turned in a great all-around performance, scoring a dozen, grabbing seven boards and dishing out four assists; Natasha Smith, an all-tournament team selection, contributed 10 points; Ymonne Davidson-Mays had 10 points, five rebounds and three assists, and freshman Annie Ward came off the bench to bury a trio of key 3-pointers in the second half to finish with nine points. Chico State finished the night shooting 49 percent from the field, and was 9-for-20 from 3-point range. Seattle Pacific’s Rachel Murray and Katie Benson scored 23 and 20 points, respectively, to lead the Falcons.
Both teams shot the ball extremely well in the first half – Chico State making 53 percent of its shots, while Seattle Pacific was 14-for-28 from the field. Natasha Smith got the Wildcats rolling, opening the evening’s scoring with a 3-pointer, but Seattle Pacific went on top 10-9 four-and-a-half minutes in and didn’t relinquish the lead for the rest of the period. Chico State pulled to within 21-20, only to see the Falcons rip off seven unanswered points to go up 28-20. The Wildcats utilized a Courtney Harrison 3-pointer and buckets by Ymonne Davidson-Mays and Samantha Messersmith to key a 7-2 run and pull to within 30-27, but Seattle Pacific responded with a pair of buckets and a 3-pointer to push its advantage to double digits at 37-27. The ’Cats defense then stepped up, holding the Falcons without a field goal for the final 3:30 of the period, while layups by McKenzie Dalthorp and Courtney Hamilton plus back-to-back treys in the final minute by Jazmine Miller got Chico State to within 41-37 at halftime.
A layup by Smith tied the contest at 45-all four minutes into the second half, but a pair of Murray free throws quickly put Seattle Pacific back on top. A Bull layup and 3-pointers by Smith and Davidson-Mays gave the Wildcats a 53-49 lead, but it proved to be short-lived, as Jordan Harizan scored five straight points to move the Falcons back out in front. The ’Cats responded with their best offensive output of the evening – spurred by Ward’s three 3-pointers, Chico State went on a 15-2 run to take a commanding 68-56 lead with 9:04 left to play. But the Wildcats suddenly went cold, making just one field goal over an eight minute stretch, and Seattle Pacific rolled off a 14-3 run to cut the ’Cats advantage to 71-70 with under two minutes to go. Chico State, though, was not about to fold under the pressure – Miller sank a free throw, Bull scored a layup and converted a pair of charity tosses, and the Wildcats pushed their lead to six with 25 seconds remaining. The Falcons could answer with only a pair of free throws, and Chico State came away with the 77-72 victory, ending a five-game losing streak against Seattle Pacific dating back to 2007.
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Chico State returns to conference play next Saturday, traveling to Arcata to face Humboldt State. Monday, Dec. 19, the Wildcats will be in Rohnert Park to take on Sonoma State.
