The Chico State women's basketball began Saturday extremely sluggish, caught fire with a big second quarter, went back and forth with visiting Cal State San Marcos in the third period, and nearly stole the ballgame at the end of regulation. But victory would elude the Wildcats as they wilted in overtime, giving the Cougars a 77-65 win at Acker Gym.
 
Saturday's loss dropped Chico State to 14-8 overall and into a tie for seventh place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with a 9-7 conference record. Cal State San Marcos improved to 11-9 overall and 9-7 in CCAA play.
 
Madison Wong and Sammy DeHart led the Wildcat offense Saturday, boasting career highs with 15 and 14 points, respectively. McKena Barker added a season-high 12 points while grabbing eight rebounds, and Whitney Branham added 11 points as Chico State lost for the just the third time in 12 home decisions this season.
 
Chico State opened up the contest missing 12 of its first 15 shots, and it took San Marcos all of seven-and-a-half minutes to build a double-digit lead. The Wildcats were down by 13 when DeHart and Wong delivered buckets in the final minute of the period to cut the deficit to 22-13.
 
In the second quarter, a pair of Wong 3-pointers bookended a 19-9 Wildcat run to put Chico State in front. San Marcos briefly took back the lead, but another trey from Wong and a DeHart jumper vaulted the 'Cats to a 37-33 advantage. The Cougars scored the final basket of the period, and the Wildcats had to be content with a 37-35 halftime lead.
 
San Marcos tied the game early in the third quarter, but a pair of Taylor baskets and a layup by Barker put Chico State back on top 43-37. The Wildcats still led by six midway through the period, only to see the Cougars reel off an 11-2 run to go up 50-47. The 'Cats retook the lead on the strength of their foul shooting—Branham, DeHart and Wong all hit free throws to put Chico State up by two, but a 3-pointer by Savannah Camp in the final minute of the period gave San Marcos a 53-52 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
 
The Wildcat slowly built a 60-55 lead in the final 10-minute stanza, but the Cougars responded with five unanswered points to tie the score with 4:26 left in regulation. After a Branham layup put Chico State back in front, Camp nailed another three-pointer and Ashley Jenkins hit one of two free throws to give the Cougars a 64-62 lead with 17 seconds remaining. With time running out, Barker slashed to the basket and was fouled as she converted the game-tying layup, and with four second left, she had a chance to give the Wildcats the lead. The charity toss was off the mark, though, and the two teams were deadlocked at 64-apiece and destined for a five-minute overtime period to determine the winner.
 
From there, it was all Cal State San Marcos. The Wildcats missed all eight of their field goal attempts in overtime, and the Cougars pulled away by making 11 of 13 free throw attempts. By the time Sherise Porchia swished a free throw with 59 seconds left to make it a 72-65 contest, the game was all but over, as San Marcos made five free throws in the final minute to come away with the 77-65 win and a sweep of the season series.
 
Chico State plays Stanislaus State (13-12, 11-5 CCAA) twice next week, traveling first to Turlock Thursday before hosting the Warriors Saturday at Acker Gym. Both games are scheduled to tip off at 5:30 p.m.