CHICO – Whether at home or on the road this season, the Chico State women’s basketball team has been both consistent and successful. The Wildcats – ranked No. 11 in the nation in the latest USA Today Sports Top 25 Coaches’ Poll – are 8-1 on their home floor and 8-1 away from the friendly confines of Acker Gym. This weekend the ’Cats face two more road tests, heading to the Bay Area to take on San Francisco State Friday and Sonoma State on Saturday. Both games are scheduled to tip off at 5:30 p.m.
Chico State enters the weekend having won three straight and six of its last seven contests. Thanks to wins last week over Humboldt State and Cal Poly Pomona, the Wildcats have improved to 16-2 on the season – one of the best starts in the 44-year history of the women’s basketball program. The ’Cats continue to sit atop the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) standings with a 12-2 conference record, one game better than second place UC San Diego and two games ahead of Cal State Monterey Bay.
The Wildcats enter the weekend as the CCAA’s top scoring team, averaging 69.5 points a game, and also leads the conference in assists (15.5 a game) and field goal percentage (41.9 percent). Chico State ranks second in the CCAA in 3-point field goal percentage (32.1 percent) and steals (12.2 a game), third in blocks (2.6 per night) and free throw percentage (70.7 percent).
A healthy handful of ’Cats are among the CCAA’s top players in several statistical categories. Jazmine Miller, who has knocked down 12 of her last 14 3-point attempts, is third in the conference in 3-point field goal percentage (42.5 percent), fifth in 3-pointers (34), seventh in steals (1.8 a game) and free throw percentage (77.4 percent), and eighth in scoring (12.9 points a game).
Courtney Hamilton leads the CCAA in assists (5.1 a game) and is third in steals (2.2 per game), blocks (0.8 a contest) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.9). Synchro Bull is the conference’s top free throw shooter (84.4 percent), Analise Riezebos is eighth in the conference in rebounding, averaging 7.2 boards a game, and Monnie Davidson-Mays is third in steals (2.2 a game) and eighth in field goal percentage (47.8 percent). McKenzie Dalthorp is 13th in the CCAA in scoring (10.9 points a game) and fourth in free throw shooting percentage (82.5 percent).
San Francisco State is 9-9 on the season and tied for seventh in the CCAA with a 6-8 conference mark. The Gators have struggled the past few weeks, dropping four of their last five, including losses last weekend to Cal State Monterey Bay and Cal State East Bay. San Francisco State is an even 4-4 at home this season.
The Gators aren’t prolific scorers, averaging 58.3 points a game, but they do a lot of other things extremely well. San Francisco State allows just 54.7 points a game (third-best in the CCAA) while leading the conference in steals (12.2 a game) and ranking second in rebounding (42.3 boards a night) and fifth in blocked shots (2.2 per contest).
The Gators are led by junior guard Angela Van Sickel, averaging 12.2 points a game and is second in the CCAA with 41 3-pointers. San Francisco State has two other players averaging double figures in scoring: sophomore forward Farrah Shokoor contributes 11.4 points a game and is third in the conference in rebounding, averaging 7.9 a night. Senior guard Nicole Hicks is good for 10.8 points and 5.7 rebounds a game.
In the season’s first meeting, Van Sickel poured in 27 points and drained six 3-pointers, but it was Chico State that came away with a 76-60 victory over the Gators Jan. 5 at Acker Gym. The Wildcats have won the last eight matchups between the two teams and leads the all-time series 66-20.
Sonoma State, the Wildcats’ Saturday night opponent, is 5-13 overall and in 11th place in the CCAA with a 3-11 conference record. The Seawolves have lost nine of their last 10 and three in a row heading into Friday’s game against Cal State Stanislaus. Sonoma State fell victim to both Cal State East Bay and Cal State Monterey Bay last weekend. At home this season, the Seawolves are 4-5.
Sonoma State ranks near of the bottom of the CCAA in both scoring (ninth, 56.6 points a game) and defense (ninth, allowing 62.8 points per contest). The Seawolves are third in the conference in free throw shooting percentage (73.2), and fifth in both assists (12.3 a game) and field goal percentage (37.7 percent).
The three top scorers Sonoma State are senior guard Taylor Vigil (7.9 points a game to go along with 4.7 rebounds a contest), sophomore guard/forward Travis Newman (7.5 points, 4.3 rebounds a game) and senior center Elizabeth Day (7.0 points, 6.1 rebounds per game). Junior guard/forward Kristina Fahey has connected for a team-high 18 3-pointers this season.
With Jazmine Miller’s 19 points leading the way, Chico State posted a lopsided 70-48 victory over the Seawolves Jan. 4 at Acker Gym. The Wildcats, winners of eight of the last 10 games against Sonoma State, lead the all-time series 59-18.
Both games can be heard live locally on Newstalk 1290 AM KPAY and on the internet via the Wildcat Athletics website, with Mike Baca handling the play-by-play. You can also follow the action of Friday and Saturday's contests with Live Stats and online video streaming.
CLICK HERE for audio play-by-play of Friday's Chico State-San Francisco State game
CLICK HERE for Live Stats of Chico State-San Francisco State game
CLICK HERE for online video streaming of Chico State-San Francisco State game
CLICK HERE for audio play-by-play of Saturday's Chico State-Sonoma State game
CLICK HERE for Live Stats of Chico State-Sonoma State game
CLICK HERE for online video streaming of Chico State-Sonoma State game
