CHICO – The Chico State women’s basketball team is gearing up for its final two games of 2011, and before breaking for the holidays, the Wildcats are faced with a pair of challenging California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) matchups, as they travel to Arcata to battle Humboldt State Saturday before squaring off against Sonoma State Monday in Rohnert Park. Both games are scheduled to tip off at 5:30 p.m.

Chico State currently stands at 5-2 on the season and in a tie with Humboldt and Cal State L.A. for fourth place in the CCAA standings with a 2-1 conference mark. The Wildcats hope to continue the success they enjoyed last weekend at the CCAA/GNAC Challenge, where they returned to the win column with victories over solid Western Washington and Seattle Pacific squads.


Individually, Jazmine Miller is tied with teammate Synchro Bull for 13th among CCAA players in scoring, averaging 12.0 points a game. Miller leads the conference in free throw percentage (87.5 percent) and is seventh in steals (2.3 a game). Courtney Hamilton is second in the CCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.7), fourth in blocked shots (1.0 per game) and fifth in assists (3.4 a contest). Courtney Harrison ranks seventh in 3-point shooting percentage (40.9).

Humboldt State, coached by former Chico State great Joddie (Vossler) Gleason, will bring a 6-1 season record to Lumberjack Arena for Saturday’s tilt with the Wildcats. Humboldt has won its last two games, including a 77-63 non-conference victory last Saturday over Western Oregon. The lone loss for the Lumberjacks, who are 3-0 at home so far this season, was a 67-60 setback Dec. 2 at Cal State Monterey Bay.

Humboldt State has enjoyed quite a bit of success on offense, ranking fourth in the CCAA with a scoring average of 67.6 points a game. The Lumberjacks have also been stingy on defense, giving up just 55.7 points per contest. Humboldt is second in the conference in both field goal (43.3) and 3-point field goal percentage (38.9), third in rebounding (38.9 boards a game) and fourth in assists (13.4 a night).

Junior guard Lisa Petty is the Lumberjacks’ top scorer – her 13.0 points-per-game average is seventh-best among CCAA players – while averaging 6.8 rebounds a contest. Senior forward Whitney Howard has made 62 percent of her shots – tops in the conference – while averaging 12.6 points a night, with senior forward Bree Halsey averaging 8.4 points and a team-high eight rebounds a game. Guards Kayla Williams and Caitie Richards lead the Lumberjacks with 11 3-pointers apiece; Williams is also second in the CCAA in assists, averaging 4.3 dishes a contest.

Chico State leads the all-time series, 62-19, but the two teams have played it pretty even over the past couple of seasons, including a split of last year’s season series. The Wildcats have only won once in their last four trips to Arcata.

Sonoma State, which begins the weekend with a Saturday showdown with Cal State Stanislaus, is 2-4 overall and tied for seventh with San Francisco State and Cal State San Bernardino in the CCAA standings with a 1-2 conference record. The Seawolves have lost three straight and four of their last five, including back-to-back losses to Seattle Pacific and Western Washington in last weekend’s CCAA/GNAC Challenge. Sonoma State has won its lone home game of the season, a 55-54 overtime victory Nov. 19 over Colorado Mesa.

Sonoma State ranks eighth in the CCAA in scoring (57.5 points a game) and seventh in the conference in defense (60.5 points a contest). The Seawolves are third among conference teams in blocked shots (2.7 a game) and fourth in free throw percentage (71.4).

Freshman forward Travis Newman leads Sonoma State’s offense, averaging 9.3 points a game while connecting on a team-high eight 3-pointers. Senior guard Jaclyn Bisordi contributes 8.5 points a contest, while Taylor Vigil is the Seawolves’ top rebounder, grabbing 5.2 boards a night. Junior forward Tori Carroll chips in with 6.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game off the bench.

The Wildcats have pretty much had Sonoma State’s number since the 2002-03 season. The ’Cats swept the season series last year, and have beaten the Seawolves in three straight and 11 of the last 13. Chico State leads the all-time series, 57-17.

Both games will be broadcast locally on Newstalk 1290-AM KPAY, with Mike Baca calling the play-by-play beginning at 5:15 p.m. Live audio is also available by clicking the Wildcat Webcast button on the Athletics website home page.

Live Stats for both contests will be available online:

Click here for Chico State-Humboldt State Live Stats

Click here for Chico State-Sonoma State Live Stats

Online video streaming will also be available for both Saturday and Monday contests:

Click here for live video of Saturday’s Chico State-Humboldt State game

Click here for live video of Monday’s Chico State-Sonoma State game