HAYWARD – Friday night's game was far from a thing of beauty – Chico State and Cal State East Bay combined for 41 turnovers, with both teams going long stretches without finding the bottom of the bucket. But the Wildcats, held without a field goal for over 11 minutes in the second half, regrouped and came up big in crunch time, holding the Pioneers scoreless over the final 2:26 and posting the final 11 points of the contest to beat East Bay 60-51 at Pioneer Gym in Hayward.
Chico State improved to 9-6 on the season and 6-5 in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play with Friday's win. Cal State East Bay dropped its third straight and sixth in the last seven games to fall to 5-11 overall and 2-8 in conference play.
Synchro Bull paced Chico State with a fine all-around performance, scoring 16 points, hauling in eight rebounds, doling out five assists and grabbing five steals. Jazmine Miller knocked down a trio of 3-pointers to finish with 13 points, while McKenzie Dalthorp contributed eight points and five rebounds for the victorious Wildcats. Cassie Coble led Cal State East Bay with 13 points in the losing effort.
Chico State got off to a quick start – a layup by Miller and two free throws by Dalthorp gave the Wildcats an early 4-0 lead. Cal State East Bay responded with an 8-2 run to go up 10-6, and the Pioneers would not relinquish the lead for the rest of the half. The 'Cats cut the deficit to two on several occasions, but fell behind 24-16 by going nearly five minutes without a field goal. Back-to-back buckets by Crystal Sewell made it a 24-20 contest with four minutes left in the period, but the East Bay zone defense repeatedly caused problems for Chico State – save for a Miller 3-pointer and a pair of Natasha Smith foul shots, the Wildcats struggled to generate any sort of consistent offense, and the Pioneers went into the locker room with a 31-25 halftime lead.
The 'Cats had no problem scoring to start the second half – a pair of buckets by both Dalthorp and Bull and a 3-pointer by Courtney Hamilton highlighted a 15-3 run to put Chico State in front 40-34 with 15:34 to play. Just as quickly, though, the Wildcat offense went ice cold, unable to score for over seven minutes, and East Bay used a 10-0 run to go back on top, 44-40. Bull ended the drought with a pair of free throws, but the 'Cats didn't hit a field goal until Sewell delivered a layup with 3:55 remaining. Bull followed with two more free throws, then Miller connected for a 3-pointer to give Chico State a short-lived 49-47 lead. The Pioneers came right back with four unanswered points to go up 51-49 with 2:26 left in the contest.
From there, it was all Wildcats. Bull's layup with 1:20 remaining tied things up, then following an East Bay turnover, Miller drained a 3-pointer with 49 seconds left to put Chico State ahead for good. While the 'Cats held the Pioneers scoreless the rest of the way, late free throws by Bull, Miller and Hamilton iced the contest, and Chico State came away with the 60-51 win.
BOX SCORE
The Wildcats are back in action Saturday, taking on Cal State Monterey Bay at The Kelp Bed is Seaside. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
