CARSON – After a big victory on the front end of a weekend road trip, a team experiencing a letdown the following night is an all-too-common occurrence. The Chico State women’s basketball team, fresh off a 32-point victory Friday over Cal State L.A., was determined not to let that happen, and the Wildcats turned in another impressive performance Saturday, shooting 52 percent from the field and leading wire-to-wire in an 80-53 thumping of Cal State Dominguez Hills at the Torodome in Carson.
The win gives Chico State a 15-9 overall record and moves the Wildcats to 12-8 in an ever-tightening California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) conference race. The ’Cats remain in sixth place, but they trail the three teams tied for third place – Humboldt State, Cal State L.A. and Cal Poly Pomona – by just one game with two games remaining in the regular season; the top four teams in the conference earning an opening round home game in the upcoming CCAA Championship Tournament. Cal State Dominguez Hills dropped its sixth straight decision Saturday to fall to 3-24 overall and 2-18 in CCAA play.
Jazmine Miller led all scorers with 17 points – 12 coming in the first half – while also pulling down a team-high six rebounds. McKenzie Dalthorp followed up Friday’s 20-point effort with 13 points against Dominguez Hills, with Ymonne Davidson-Mays scoring a career-high 11 points. Synchro Bull contributed eight points and six assists for the Wildcats, which hit 30 of 58 shots from the field and outrebounded the Toros, 48-39. For the weekend, Chico State connected on 54 percent of is shots (63-for-116).
The Wildcats held Dominguez Hills to just four field goals and 12.5 percent shooting in the first half, and wasted no time in jumping out to an early lead as Miller hit a layup, two free throws and a 3-pointer to put Chico State up 9-0. The Toros got to within 11-5, but on the strength of baskets by Bull, Davidson-Mays, Dalthorp, Caressa Williams and Jennifer Rene, the ’Cats ripped off 10 of the next 13 points to extend their lead to 21-8. Despite its poor shooting, Dominguez Hills stayed within hollering distance at the free throw line and trailed by only 11 with 1:51 left in the half. The Wildcats ended the period on a 6-0 run courtesy of two Bull buckets and a pair of Natasha Smith free throws, and Chico State took a 38-21 lead into intermission.
The ’Cats were never seriously threatened in the second half. Up 41-25, Chico State went on a 13-5 run, with Davidson-May knocking down a pair of field goals and Smith nailing a 3-pointer to make it a 54-30 contest. Dominguez Hills went on a 6-0 mini-run to pull to within 18, but the Wildcats effectively put the game away by scoring 18 of the next 22 points to open up a 32-point cushion, and led 72-40 with seven minutes remaining. The Toros never got closer than 26 the rest of the way, and Chico State cruised to the 80-53 victory – its sixth straight win over Dominguez Hills – and a sweep of the season series.
BOX SCORE
The Wildcats wrap up the regular season at home this Thursday and Friday, taking on Cal State Monterey Bay and Cal State East Bay at Acker Gym. Both games are scheduled to tip off at 5:30 p.m.
