HAYWARD – The first half essentially dictated the outcome of Friday night's Chico State-Cal State East Bay women's basketball game. The Wildcats' shots weren't dropping, and they were getting beat on the boards through the first 20 minutes of the contest, allowing the host Pioneers to build a double digit halftime lead. It was a hole that 'Cats' couldn't dig themselves out of, as East Bay used a 13-0 second half run to blow the game open and cruise to a 75-56 win at Pioneer Gymnasium in Hayward.

 

Friday's loss brought Chico State's modest two-game winning streak to a halt and dropped the Wildcats to 6-9 overall and 3-8 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). Cal State East Bay successfully snapped its five-game losing skid to improve to 10-7 on the season and 5-6 in CCAA play.
 
Annie Ward enjoyed her best shooting night of the season for the Wildcats, hitting seven of 12 field goal attempts – including four 3-pointers – to finish with a team-high 18 points. Hannah Womack contributed 10 points and a career-high eight rebounds, while Natalie Valenzuela and Haley Cremen scored 10 and seven points, respectively – both career highs for the Wildcat freshmen.
 
The Chico State offense sputtered in the first half, shooting just 26.9 percent, as Womack and Ward represented the Wildcats' lone scoring threats. Cal State East Bay raced out to a 9-1 lead before Ward hit the 'Cats' first field goal three-and-a-half minutes into the contest. The Pioneers hung onto the lead throughout the period, though the Wildcats twice closed to within one. A Michelle Walker layup and two Womack free throws pulled Chico State to within 21-20, but East Bay's defense proceeded to clamp down, holding the 'Cats without a field goal for the final 4:30 of the half. As a result, the Pioneers closed out the opening period on a 12-3 run to take a 33-23 lead at intermission.
 
Three-point buckets by Womack and Whitney Branham kept the Wildcats close early in the second half, but with the score 35-29, East Bay went on a 10-2 run to build its lead to 14 at 45-31. Chico State whittled away at the deficit, with a Brooke Bowen layup and a pair of Ward 3-pointers pulling the 'Cats to within 47-39, but back-to-back treys by the Pioneers began a string of 13 unanswered points to extend East Bay's advantage to 18 at 60-39. The Wildcats, despite some late buckets by Cremen off the bench, could get no closer than 16 the rest of the way, and East Bay breezed to the decisive 75-56 victory.   
 
The Wildcats wrap up their brief road trip Saturday when they travel to Seaside to take on Cal State Monterey Bay (4-12, 2-9 CCAA). Tip off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.