Box Score CHICO – The Chico State women’s basketball team held the upper hand in a good ol’ fashioned shootout in the first half Friday against Cal State San Bernardino, and while the ’Cats’ defense tamed the Coyotes in the second half, the No. 11 Wildcats continued to fill up the bucket, shooting just under 60 percent on the night to roll to a convincing 81-61 victory at Acker Gym.
The win – Chico State’s sixth straight and ninth in the last 10 games – moved the Wildcats to 19-2 overall and 15-2 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), maintaining a one-game lead over second place UC San Diego in the conference standings. The Tritons visit Acker Gym Saturday for a game that will determine the CCAA’s top spot. Cal State San Bernardino saw its modest two game winning streak come to an end to fall to 9-12 on the season and 7-10 in CCAA play.
Four Wildcats scored in double figures Friday – Monnie Davidson-Mays led the way with 15 points while also grabbing a team-high eight rebounds; Jazmine Miller contributed 14 points; Hannah Womack buried three 3-pointers on the way to a 13-point night, and Analise Riezebos scored 10 points in just 10 minutes of action. Courtney Hamilton tied her career high with 10 assists while chipping in with five points and two blocked shots. San Bernardino’s Tayllor Gipson led all scorers with 17 points.
The shots were falling early and often for both teams in the first half, as the Wildcats and Coyotes combined to hit 58.1 percent of their field goal attempts. A Hamilton layup three-and-a-half minutes in put Chico State ahead for the first time, and the Wildcats held the lead for the rest of the period, though it took some sizzling shooting to keep San Bernardino at bay. Womack, Miller and Annie Ward all knocked down 3-pointers, while Synchro Bull poured in four points and dished out three assists as the ’Cats built a 25-18 lead. The Coyotes pulled to within a point on four different occasions, but a Womack 3-pointer and baskets by Bull and Riezebos keyed a 7-2 run to give Chico State a 39-33 halftime lead.
The second half saw the Wildcats clamping down on defense and cooling off San Bernardino’s shooters, as the Coyotes missed 29 of 37 field goal attempts in the final 20 minutes. Chico State remained hot on the offensive end, shooting nearly 58 percent in the half, and took a 45-35 lead by hitting its first three shots. Every time San Bernardino did knock down a bucket, the Wildcats had an answer, and with the score 54-46 midway through the period Chico State put the game away, using 3-pointers by Womack and Ward and baskets by Davidson-Mays, Miller, Sam Messersmith and McKenzie Dalthorp to fuel a 22-10 run to put the ’Cats up 76-56 with 4:31 to play. San Bernardino could get no closer than 17 points the rest of the way, and a Miller 3-pointer with 25 seconds to go provided the exclamation point to Chico State’s 81-61 victory over the Coyotes and a sweep of the regular season series.
The Wildcats will be hosting a red-hot UC San Diego team Saturday at Acker Gym. The Tritons (16-8, 14-3 CCAA) come to Chico riding an eight game winning streak after downing Cal State Stanislaus Friday, 69-50.
The game will be broadcast locally with Mike Wessels providing the play-by-play on Newstalk 1290 AM KPAY, and on the internet via the Wildcat Athletics website. Live Stats will also be available online.
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