Box Score ARCATA – The Chico State women’s basketball team began a challenging four-game road swing against Humboldt State Thursday, knowing how extremely difficult it is to win at Lumberjack Arena. But as they have all season, the Wildcats stepped up in a big way, shooting 44.3 percent from the field – and over 47 percent from 3-point land – while committing only four turnovers the entire night. Defensively, Chico State held the host ’Jacks to just 27 second half points and one field goal in the final 3:47 of the contest to help the ’Cats come away with an impressive 76-66 victory.
With Thursday’s win, Chico State improves to 15-2 overall and 11-2 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The victory also increased the Wildcats’ conference lead to a game-and-a-half over second place Cal State L.A. and UC San Diego. Humboldt State dropped its third straight and eighth in the last nine games to fall to 8-11 on the season and 4-9 in CCAA play.
Jazmine Miller, who hit five 3-points in last Saturday’s win over Cal State East Bay, continued her torrid shooting from behind the arc Thursday, hitting all five of her long distance attempts to finish with a career-high 22 points. Synchro Bull tallied a season-high 18 points – 14 in the second half – and Monnie Davidson-Mays chimed in with 16 points. Courtney Hamilton scored just two points, but was a key factor in the Wildcats’ win, leading the team with eight rebounds and a career-high 10 assists. Humboldt State’s Lisa Petty led all scorers with 26 points.
Humboldt State broke out to an early lead, but 3-pointers by Miller and Hannah Womack bookended a 10-3 Wildcat run to put Chico State on top, 12-9. The Lumberjacks briefly went back out in front 16-14, but Annie Ward’s 3-pointer promptly put the ’Cats back in the lead. The Wildcats extended their advantage to 31-25, only to see Humboldt State score 11 unanswered points to go up 36-31. A Davidson-Mays jumper and a Sam Messersmith 3-pointer tied up the contest, but as the first half buzzer sounded, Tiana Maxwell buried a 3-pointer to give the Lumberjacks a 39-36 lead at intermission.
Humboldt State led 41-40 early in the second half when Chico State began to take over the contest. A pair of Miller 3-pointers, two buckets by Bull and a Davidson-Mays jumper highlighted a 19-10 Wildcat run to make the score 59-51. The ’Cats then went cold over the next three minutes as six straight Lumberjack points cut Chico State’s lead to a duece. The Wildcats pushed the advantage back to six, but a Petty 3-pointer made it a 63-60 game with 3:47 remaining.
The ’Cats responded by ripping off nine consecutive points – another Miller 3-pointer and baskets by Bull, Womack and Davidson-Mays highlighting the run – to give Chico State a 72-60 lead. The Wildcat defense made sure there would be no last-minute drama, forcing three Humboldt State turnovers and allowing only one field goal the rest of the way, and the ’Cats rolled to the 76-66 victory and a regular season sweep of Humboldt State.
The Wildcats will take Friday off before returning to action Saturday in southern California, taking on Cal Poly Pomona at Kellogg Gymnasium, with the tipoff slated for 5:30 p.m. You can catch Mike Baca’s broadcast of the game locally on Newstalk 1290 AM KPAY or on the internet via the Wildcat Athletics website. Live Stats and streaming video will also be available online.
CLICK HERE for audio broadcast for Saturday's Chico State-Cal Poly Pomona game
CLICK HERE for Live Stats
CLICK HERE for online video streaming
