ARCATA – For the first 24 minutes Saturday, the Chico State women’s basketball team could do little wrong. Shooting a gaudy 60 percent from the field, the Wildcats were playing aggressively, building an eight point lead over host Humboldt State. But what could have been the ’Cats’ fourth straight win went south in a hurry, as the Lumberjacks staged a furious second half comeback, outscoring Chico State 43-23 in the second half and handing the Wildcats a 76-60 defeat at Lumberjack Arena.
With the loss, Chico State dropped to 14-6 on the season and into fifth place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) standings with an 11-5 conference mark. Humboldt State picked up its fifth win in the last six games to improve to 12-8 overall and 9-7 in CCAA play.
Kristen Marquardt led the Wildcats with 13 points – all in the first half – and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds in the losing effort. Molly Collins added 12 points, while Jazmine Miller and Pauline Ferrall contributed eight points apiece. Courtney Hamilton scored four points for the ’Cats and dished out a game-high seven assists. Humboldt State’s Kayla Williams led all scorers with 22 points, while Lisa Petty hit four 3-pointers to finish with 20 points to go along with eight rebounds.
Humboldt scored the first two buckets of the contest, but two Marquardt jumpers and a Taylor Lydon 3-pointer highlighted a 13-4 Chico State run to put the Wildcats in front by five. The Lumberjacks responded with eight unanswered points to go up 16-13; Analise Riezebos, Jazmine Miller, Molly Collins and Pauline Ferrall all knocked down shots as the ’Cats outscored Humboldt 13-5 to regain the lead at 26-21. The Lumberjacks went back in front 29-28 before Chico State finished by scoring nine of the final 13 points of the half; a Marquardt jumper gave the Wildcats a 37-33 lead at intermission.
Chico State spotted Humboldt the first basket of the second half, then used two Ferrall layups and a Courtney Harrison bucket to extend its lead to 43-35. And that’s when the tables drastically turned – the ’Cats suddenly couldn’t buy a bucket (after shooting 63 percent in the first half, Chico State was just 8-for-38 from the field in the second period), and the Lumberjacks used two 3-pointers by Petty, two treys by Catie Richards and a 3-pointer by Williams to key a 33-12 run over the next 12 minutes to surge ahead 68-56. A Harrison layup cut the deficit to 10 with 2:06 left to play, but Humboldt State iced the contest as Petty, Taylor Kilgore and Jenna Hamilton all knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Lumberjacks the 16-point win and avenge their 64-62 loss to the Wildcats Dec. 3 at Acker Gym.
BOX SCORE
Chico State embarks on the second half of its four-game road trip Thursday, traveling to Hayward to take on Cal State East Bay. Next Saturday the Wildcats will be in La Jolla for a huge CCAA matchup against UC San Diego. Both games are scheduled to tip off at 5:30 p.m.
