It was almost as if the Acker Gym faithful was watching two different games Sunday. The Chico State women's basketball team committed 18 first half turnovers and were outrebounded by Cal State Dominguez Hills on the way to trailing 38-31 at intermission. In the second half, the Wildcats dramatically flipped the switch, outscoring the Toros 43-19 and commanding a 26-6 advantage on the boards in the final 20 minutes of their New Year's Eve matinee to roll to a 74-57 victory.   
 
Chico State's third straight win moves the Wildcats to 7-5 overall and into fourth place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) standings with a 5-3 conference record. Cal State Dominguez Hills saw its losing streak extend to three to slip to 7-7 on the season and 5-4 in CCAA play.
 
Whitney Branham hit three 3-pointers and was a perfect 11-for-11 at the free throw line to finish with a team-high 26 points. McKena Barker turned in arguably her finest performance as a collegiate, scoring a career-high 22 points and hauling in 14 rebounds. It marked Barker's ninth career double-double.

 

Kayla Taylor contributed eight points and seven rebounds to the 'Cats' attack, with Jo Paine adding eight points and grabbing six boards. Madison Wong dished out a game-high seven assists, as the Wildcats shot 48.9 percent from the field (22-of-45) and 96.3 percent (26-of-27) from the free throw line.
 
Before the fans had barely settled into their seats, Dominguez Hills raced out to an early 7-0 lead and used a backcourt press to force several Wildcat miscues. Layups by Taylor, Branham and Barker pulled Chico State even at 10-apiece, only to see the Toros respond with six unanswered points to jump back on top. The 'Cats, on the strength of a jumper and four free throws by Paine, briefly went ahead 18-16, but the Toros finished the quarter on a 9-2 run to end the period up 25-20.
 
Dominguez Hills pushed its advantage to eight in the second quarter, but the Wildcats began to slowly climb back into the contest. A Taylor layup and a Branham 3-pointer brought Chico State to within 30-27, but the Toros tallied eight of the next 12 points to take a 38-31 lead into halftime.
 
From there, though, it was all Wildcats. Chico State began the third quarter on a 10-3 run to vault in front, then after Dominguez Hills answered with a bucket to briefly to re-take the lead, the 'Cats held the Toros to just two field goals and six points in the final six minutes of the period. The Wildcats used layups by Barker, Taylor and Branham to grab the lead—one they would not relinquish—and went into the fourth quarter up 52-48.
 
Whitney Branham hit a pair of 3-pointers in the period. The first was the 170th of her career, moving Branham past Michelle Pietka and into fourth place on Chico State's all-time 3-pointer list.
 
Chico State completely suffocated the Toros in the final 10-minute stanza, holding Dominguez Hills to just 3-of-18 shooting (22.6 percent) and establishing a jaw-dropping 17-1 edge in rebounding. It was still anyone's game with 6:17 left, but with the 'Cats up 61-55, Chico State dropped the hammer by outscoring Dominguez 13-2 the rest of the way. Barker, Branham and Wong hit 10 consecutive free throws in the final four minutes to ice the contest, and Brynn Thoming's charity toss with 23 seconds to go put the exclamation point on the Wildcats' 74-57 win.
 
The Wildcats travel to Southern California next week, taking on Cal State San Marcos Friday and CCAA-leading UC San Diego on Saturday. Both games are scheduled to tip off at 5:30 p.m.