Box Score CHICO – The Chico State women's basketball team played its first home game of the 2013-14 season Tuesday night at Acker Gym, and Head Coach Brian Fogel's squad made sure to Wildcat fans went home happy. The No. 17 'Cats built a 19-point halftime lead and then used a 41-point second period to easily outdistance visiting Fresno Pacific, downing the Sunbirds by a final of 79-47.
With Tuesday's win, Chico State improved to 2-0 on the young season, and though it's certainly a small sampling, the Wildcats are already putting up some mighty impressive stats. The 'Cats are shooting over 51 percent as a team and have forced 53 turnovers in their two games, outscoring their opponents by an average of 30 points a contest.
Fresno Pacific dropped to 0-3 on the season.
Jazmine Miller was one of four Chico State players to score in double figures, leading the way with 15 points. Hannah Womack connected for three 3-pointers and finished with 12 points, while Courtney Hamilton and McKenzie Dalthorp chipped in 10 apiece. Dalthorp just missed a double-double, grabbing a team-high nine rebounds. The 'Cats' well-balanced offensive attack featured every Chico State player scoring at least four points on the night.
Three-point buckets by Womack and Miller staked Chico State to an early 6-0 lead, but Fresno Pacific answered with an 8-2 run to knot up the contest. A minute later Hamilton sank a pair of free throws to put the Wildcats back on top, and Chico State would not relinquish the lead for the rest of the night. The 'Cats went on a 17-6 run over the next seven minutes, with Womack hitting another trey and Dalthorp, Hamilton, Analise Riezebos and Tyler Prange contributing baskets to put Chico State up 27-14. Chico State finished the period by scoring 11 of the final 13 points, and went into halftime with a sizeable 38-19 lead.
The Wildcats continued to be aggressive in the second half, opening with an 11-2 run to extend their advantage to 28 at 49-21. Fresno Pacific simply had no answer for the Chico State attack, as Miller and Annie Ward knocked down 3-pointers, Womack converted a four-point play (her second in as many games), and the 'Cats drained seven straight free throws to open up a 77-37 lead with 4:27 remaining, eventually cruising to the 79-47 victory.
Chico State is back in action Nov. 22-23, as they travel to Rohnert Park to take part in the Sonoma State Elsie Darling Classic. The Wildcats will take on Notre Dame de Namur at 1 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 22, then wrap up the tournament Saturday, Nov. 23 at 1 p.m. versus Tampa University.
