CHICO – The Chico State women's basketball team hoped to roll in the holidays with a second straight win over Cal State Stanislaus. Instead, the Wildcats moved into the break on a wild rollercoaster of a contest Saturday night at Acker Gym, as both teams let big leads get away and went long periods without finding the bottom of the bucket. The visiting Warriors led throughout the second half, but had to withstand a huge 'Cats comeback attempt in the final two-and-a-half minutes to escape with a 72-71 victory, avenging last weekend's Chico State win in Turlock. 
 
Saturday's loss dropped Chico State to 4-4 overall and into a tie for ninth place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with a 1-3 conference record. Cal State Stanislaus snapped a four-game losing streak to improve to 3-5 on the season and 1-3 in CCAA play.
 

Hannah Womack scored 18 of her 23 points in the second half to pace the Wildcats, while Whitney Branham matched her career high with 18. Brooke Bowen added a career-best 17 points, with Ashtyn Anderson coming off the bench to pull down a team-high 10 rebounds. Cassidy Sanders-Curry, averaging just 6.3 points a game entering Saturday's contest, led all scorers with a career-high 30 points for Stanislaus.
 
Stanislaus jumped out to a seven-point lead to open the game and was still in front 13-7 when Bowen dropped in a pair of layups and drilled a 3-pointer to put the Wildcats on top 14-13. With the game knotted up at 18-apiece, Chico State went on a 10-3 run – highlighted by 3-pointers by Womack and Branham – to give the 'Cats a 28-21 advantage. The Wildcats offense then went cold over the final five minutes of the period, hitting just one field goal while seeing Stanislaus rip off a 14-5 run to give the Warriors a 35-33 halftime lead.
 
Chico State stayed within striking distance early in the second half, and only trailed 47-46 when Stanislaus suddenly put the clamps down on defense, holding the Wildcats scoreless for nearly five minutes while racking up 11 unanswered points to go up 58-46. The 'Cats kept chipping away, twice trimming the deficit to three, but with 2:32 remaining the Warriors had slowly built a sizeable 71-63 lead.
 
The Wildcats made one final charge – Womack connected for a pair of 3-pointers and a layup by Anderson fueled an 8-1 run to bring Chico State to within one with 38 seconds to play. The 'Cats had a chance to win the ballgame, grabbing a missed Stanislaus 3-point attempt with seven seconds left and going the length of the floor, but Bowen's baseline jumper at the buzzer skipped off the rim, allowing the Warriors to hang on for the 72-71 victory and even the season series between the two teams.    
 
Following the Wildcats' brief holiday break, the team heads down to Southern California to resume CCAA play on the first weekend of the New Year. Chico State takes on Cal Poly Pomona on Friday, Jan. 2 and UC San Diego on Saturday Jan. 3. Both games are scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.