CHICO – The city of Seattle has been known as “the Queen City,” “the Gateway to Alaska,” “Rain City,” and more recently “the Emerald City” – but the seaport town is also known for quality basketball. The Chico State women’s basketball team face two big non-conference challenges when it heads to the Pacific Northwest this weekend to take on Western Washington Friday at 5 p.m. and Seattle Pacific at 7 p.m. in the CCAA/GNAC Challenge at Brougham Pavilion on the Seattle Pacific campus.
The Wildcats enter the weekend 3-2 on the season and, at 2-1, are tied for fourth place in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) standings. Though the games in Seattle are non-conference contests, they’ll be a huge factor in determining regional rankings later in the season. The ’Cats are looking to bounce back from last Saturday’s 70-55 loss to No. 11 Cal Poly Pomona.
As a team, Chico State is currently ranked seventh in the CCAA in offense, averaging 59.6 points a game, and is eighth in defense, allowing 59 points a contest. The Wildcats also rank fourth in the conference in steals (10.4 a game), fifth in assists (11.2 a night) and fifth in 3-point shooting percentage (34.3 percent).
Individually, Jazmine Miller is 12th among CCAA players in scoring (12.4 points a game) and leads the conference in free throw shooting with a perfect 16-for-16 line from the charity stripe. Synchro Bull is also scoring in double figures, averaging 10.2 points a game, while Ymonne Davidson-Mays is among the CCAA leaders in rebounds, averaging 6.4 boards a contest.
Western Washington, which has made three straight NCAA Championship Tournament appearances and nine in the last 10 years, is 4-2 so far on the season and tied for fourth in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) heading into Friday night’s contest with the ’Cats. Last year’s GNAC champions beat Montana State-Billings Dec. 1 in its 2011-12 conference opener, only to drop a 82-66 decision to Seattle Pacific last Saturday.
The Vikings feature a high-scoring offense that isn’t afraid to hoist up the 3-ball. Western Washington ranks second in the GNAC in scoring (77.5 points a game), but is dead last in the conference in defense, allowing nearly 69 points a night. The Vikings lead the GNAC in field goal percentage (45.2 percent), and ranks second in rebounds (45.2 a game), assists (18.2 a night) and blocks (3.5 a contest).
Western Washington is led by junior guard Corinn Waltrip, averaging 13.5 points a game and a GNAC-best 4.7 assists a contest. Senior forward Kristin Schramm is averaging 11 points and 4.8 rebounds a game, while junior center Britt Harris contributes over eight points and just under six rebounds a contest. Freshmen guards Katie Colard and Erin Feeney have combined for 23 3-pointers on the season.
Western Washington leads the all-time series, 9-7, but Chico State has won four of the last five meetings, including a 65-62 overtime victory Dec. 10 in last season’s CCAA/GNAC Challenge.
Seattle Pacific, shooting for its 16th consecutive NCAA Championship Tournament appearance, brings a 5-2 season record into the CCAA/GNAC Challenge. The Falcons, who play Sonoma State Friday prior to their Saturday showdown with the Wildcats, are coming off an impressive 82-66 road win over Western Washington last Saturday.
Seattle Pacific has been extremely successful in the CCAA/GNAC Challenge, winning 22 of 28 tournament games over the years, and owns a perfect 30-0 preseason tournament record on its home floor, Brougham Pavilion.
Like Western Washington, Seattle Pacific can also score in bunches, averaging 69.9 points a game, while holding opponents to 62.1 points a contest. The Falcons lead the GNAC in 3-point field goal percentage (38 percent) and free throw percentage (77.2 percent), and are third as a team in scoring, assists (15.9 a game) and field goal percentage (44.3 percent).
The Falcons boast the GNAC’s top scorer, Katie Benson – the sophomore forward is averaging 17.6 points a game, and is in the conference’s top 10 in rebounding, averaging 6.9 boards a contest. Junior guard Rachel Murray is averaging 10.4 points a game; senior guard Nyesha Sims chimes in with over eight points and six rebounds a contest, while sophomore guard Betsy Kingma is Seattle Pacific’s long-distance shooting threat, connecting on 10 of 20 3-pointers on the season.
Seattle Pacific and Chico State have faced each other 16 times since 1985, with the Falcons winning 12 times. Seattle Pacific has beaten the Wildcats in each of the last five meetings, including last season’s 57-56 victory Dec. 11 at the CCAA/GNAC Challenge; in that game, Sims provided a dramatic 3-point buzzer beater to down the ’Cats and hand Chico State its first loss of the season.
Both Chico State games will be broadcast locally on KPAY 1290-AM Radio, with Mike Baca providing the play-by-play. Live audio is also available via the Wildcat Webcast link on the Athletics home page. Live Stats and Live webcasts for all CCAA/GNAC Challenge games are available on the
Seattle Pacific Athletics website.
