ROHNERT PARK, Calif.—It doesn't matter how long a team leads in a game, just as long as it's on top when the final horn sounds. The Chico State women's basketball team, lifting the lid on the 2017–18 season Friday, led Dominican nearly the entire contest at the CCAA/PacWest Challenge, but came up short of victory as the Penguins outscored the Wildcats 25-11 in the fourth quarter and poured in 10 unanswered points in the final 2:18 to hand the 'Cats an 83-81 loss at the Wolves' Den in Rohnert Park.
Whitney Branham, Chico State's leading scorer the past two seasons, got the 2017–18 campaign off to a rousing start, knocking down four 3-pointers and tying her career high with 27 points. Kayla Taylor added 13 points to the 'Cats' attack, while McKena Barker and Hannah Washington each posted 11 points and nine rebounds in the losing effort.
The Wildcats were slow to get the offense untracked in the game's opening period, spotting Dominican the first four points. The Penguins led 8-4 when the 'Cats cranked things up, using a Branham 3-point play and a Vanessa Holland 3-pointer to highlight a 12-2 run to put Chico State on top 16-10. Layups by Washington and Barker, plus a pair of Holland free throws extended the Wildcats' advantage to seven, but five Dominican free throws cut the deficit to 22-20. Two Branham free throws and a Barker layup concluded a high-scoring quarter and kept the 'Cats in the lead, 26-24.
The Wildcats held on to the advantage throughout the second period, though at one point Dominican was able to creep to within 33-32. Chico State responded by closing out the quarter on a 11-2 run—Taylor delivered back-to-back layups and Branham capped the stretch with a 3-ball, giving the 'Cats a 44-34 lead at intermission.
The Penguins scored seven of the first nine points of the third quarter to pull to within 46-41, but once again Chico State answered. Branham, Holland and Madison Wong all drained 3-pointers to fuel a 15-7 run to extend the 'Cats' lead to 61-48. Dominican went on a 10-2 run of its own to whittle the deficit to 63-58, but the Wildcats closed out the period with four Shay Stark free throws and a Wong 3-pointer to push Chico State's lead to 70-58.
A Taylor layup to start the fourth quarter staked the Wildcats to their biggest lead of the night at 72-58, but Chico State's offense would go cold for the next five minutes. Dominican took advantage of several turnovers and the 'Cats' perilous foul situation—Taylor and Barker were each playing with four fouls, and Washington has three—to go on a 13-1 run to trail by just a bucket. It looked like Chico State would right the ship in time, though, as Washington delivered a 3-point play and Branham came through with a 3-pointer and a layup to stretch the Wildcats' lead to 81-73 with 2:22 to play.
Instead, the Penguins blanked Chico State the rest of the way while scoring 10 straight points. Dominican's final score—a jumper by Julia Razo with four seconds to play—turned out to be the winning bucket, as Branham's layup attempt at the buzzer was blocked by Natalie Diaz, giving the Penguins the come-from-behind 83-81 victory.
The Wildcats wrap up the CCAA/PacWest Challenge Saturday against Notre Dame de Namur, with tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. Mitch Cox will describe the action locally on Newstalk 1290-AM KPAY, with the play-by-play simulcast on the Wildcat Athletics website. Live Stats and live streaming video are also available online.
