Box Score CHICO – Senior Night for the Chico State women's basketball team is traditionally an emotional affair, but Saturday at Acker Gym feelings were running high even after the Wildcat faithful bid a fond farewell to Courtney Hamilton, Jazmine Miller, Analise Riezebos and McKenzie Dalthorp. There was a lot riding on the 'Cats' final regular season game against No. 15 Cal Poly Pomona – not the least of which a first round bye in next week's California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championship Tournament. The Wildcats more than rose to the challenge, outlasting the Broncos in a frenetic barn-burner to win 63-61.
Saturday's victory pushed Chico State's season record to 18-8, but more importantly, clinched second place in the CCAA with a 14-8 conference mark. As a result, the Wildcats will begin play in Friday's semifinal round as the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, taking place at Citizen's Business Bank Arena in Ontario. The 'Cats will play an 8:05 p.m. game against the winner of Thursday's opening round matchup between Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State East Bay.
Regular season champion Cal Poly Pomona, which also owns a first round tournament bye, dipped to 21-5 overall and 18-4 in CCAA play.
Miller knocked down four 3-pointers Saturday to finish with a team-high 21 points. Hamilton added 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists to the Wildcat attack. Annie Ward hit three 3-pointers en route to an 11-point night, while Riezebos pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds. Though the Wildcats shot only 33.9 percent from the field (19-for-56), they outrebounded Pomona 40-33 and forced 18 Broncos turnovers. Pomona's Jada Blackwell led all scorers with 30 points.
Chico State came out with more fire in the first 60 seconds Saturday than they displayed in 40 minutes during Friday's loss to Humboldt State, grabbing three offensive boards and outhustling Pomona for every loose ball. A Hamilton 3-pointer with 11:50 left in the period gave the Wildcats a 17-10 lead, and though Chico State could only score three more over the next seven minutes, still held a 20-19 lead when a Miller layup and four Dalthorp free throws pushed the 'Cats' advantage back to seven. The Broncos pulled to within three before Miller ended the half with a layup to give Chico State a 29-24 lead at intermission.
The Wildcats scored the first bucket of the second half, only to see Pomona respond with a 9-0 run to take its first lead of the game. The Broncos went up by five midway through the period, but Chico State simply dialed up the intensity level, using 3-pointers by Ward, Miller and Hamilton to highlight a 13-4 run to put the Wildcats back on top 52-48 with 6:43 to go.
Pomona crept to within 55-53 with 3:22 to play, but baskets by Dalthorp and Riezebos plus two free throws by Miller extended Chico State's advantage to 61-55 with just over a minute remaining. Again the Broncos fought back, whittling the deficit to three before Hamilton drained two clutch free throws with 19 seconds left to make it a two-possession game. Blackwell's 3-pointer at the buzzer was too little and too late, as the Wildcats hung on for the 63-61 victory and a sweep of the regular season series.
The Wildcats, the No. 5 team in the West Region, will now gear up for the CCAA Championship Tournament with the hopes of further postseason play March 14-17 as part of the NCAA Championship Tournament.
