CHICO – It was repeatedly mentioned during Senior Night that Katie Girten, Kristin Marquardt, Molly Collins and Taylor Lydon were playing their last regular season home games – emphasis on regular season – at Acker Gym. But Chico State’s chance to host a first round contest in the upcoming California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championship Tournament went up in smoke Saturday as the visiting Cal State San Bernardino Coyotes spoiled the senior party with a 70-60 victory, handing the reeling Wildcats their fifth straight loss.
Chico State falls to 14-10 overall with Saturday’s setback and 11-9 in CCAA play. With two regular season games remaining, the Wildcats can finish no higher than fifth place in the conference standings, and are now faced with having to win three straight postseason games to earn an automatic NCAA Championship Tournament bid. Cal State San Bernardino clinched no worse than a fourth place finish in the conference – and a first round tournament home game – with Saturday’s win, improving to 18-5 on the season and 14-5 in the CCAA.
Despite the loss, freshman guard Jazmine Miller turned in her finest game as a Wildcat Saturday, leading the team with 13 points and seven rebounds – both career highs. Marquardt finished with 10 points on the night, while Lydon and Analise Riezebos each grabbed seven rebounds. San Bernardino’s Danielle Shows made only three shots in the game, but was 12-for-16 from the free throw line to lead all scorers with 18 points; Sabrina Gonzalez and Eisha Sheppard had 17 apiece as the Coyotes swept the season series against the ’Cats.
The five game losing streak is the longest for a Chico State women’s basketball team in nine years. The 2001-02 edition of the Wildcats dropped five straight Feb. 8-22, 2002.
The first half was 20 minutes of tightly-played, defense-heavy action, with neither team leading by more than five points – and that only lasted for 30 seconds. A pair of Molly Collins jumpers and a layup by Marquardt accounted for all the points in a 6-0 Chico State run to put the ’Cats up 23-18. San Bernardino responded by reeling off six straight to take a 24-23 lead, but Chico State clawed back to go up 27-26 before Gonzalez drained a 3-pointer with eight seconds left in the period, giving the Coyotes a 29-27 halftime advantage.
San Bernardino was still clinging to a one-point lead early in the second half when the Wildcat offense went cold, hitting just two shots over a seven-minute stretch. The Coyotes weren’t exactly tearing up the bottom of the net, either, but outscored the ’Cats 11-4 to extend their lead to 45-37 with 10:25 left to play. Chico State could get no closer than four points the rest of the way, but were only down five, 57-52, with 2:43 to go. San Bernardino sewed up the contest at the free throw line, converting 11 of 14 shots from the charity stripe in the final minutes to pull away and post the 70-60 victory. After shooting nearly 52 percent in Friday’s loss to Cal Poly Pomona, the Wildcats were just 37.9 percent from the field against San Bernardino, while hitting just one of 14 3-point attempts. The lone Chico State victory on Saturday’s stat sheet was in the rebounding column, where the ’Cats edged the Coyotes 46-42.
BOX SCORE
Chico State takes to the road next week, trying to wrap up the regular season on a positive note. The Wildcats are in Seaside Thursday to take on CCAA-leading Cal State Monterey Bay, then travel to the Bay Area to battle San Francisco State on Friday. Both games are scheduled to tip off at 5:30 p.m.
