HAYWARD—One thing the Chico State women's basketball team has established this season: it will fight to the very end. No matter the score, opponents know they cannot afford to relax whenever the Wildcats are on the floor. A talented Cal State East Bay squad found that out firsthand Friday in Hayward—though trailing the entire contest, the 'Cats overcame several large deficits to stay close, but eventually ran out of time to overtake the Pioneers, falling by a final score of 58-50.
Friday's loss—Chico State's fourth in a row—drops the Wildcats to 14-11 overall and into a tie for eighth place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with a 9-10 conference record. Cal State East Bay posted its fifth straight win to improve to 18-8 on the season and 15-4 in CCAA play.
Whitney Branham hit four 3-pointers to finish with 12 points on the night. McKena Barker delivered her second straight double-double, pouring in 12 points while grabbing 10 rebounds. Madison Wong added eight points and four assists to the Wildcat attack.
East Bay raced out to a double-digit lead midway through the first quarter and was still up 17-6 when Chico State ended the period with a 9-2 run—Tyler Prange draining a 3-pointer and Kayla Taylor and Michelle Townsend each adding a bucket—to make it a 19-15 contest heading into the second quarter.
The Pioneers needed just three-and-a-half minutes to extend their advantage to 26-15, but once again Chico State chipped away at the deficit. Branham connected on a pair of 3-balls, Wong hit a trey and Barker added six points in a 15-6 run to pull to within 32-30 at halftime.
East Bay came out strong in the third quarter, outscoring Chico State 12-1 to build its biggest lead of the game at 44-31. But back came the 'Cats—a Wong 3-pointer and baskets by Wong, Townsend and Barker to close out the period made it a 46-40 contest entering the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats crept even closer in the final 10-minute stanza—fueled by a pair of Branham 3-pointers, East Bay's lead was sliced to just two with 6:31 remaining. A jumper by Prange made the score 52-50, but for the final five minutes of the contest, the Chico State offense was completely shut down. The 'Cats missed their final four shots and committed four turnovers down the stretch, and while the Pioneers weren't exactly lighting it up offensively, four free throws in the final 20 seconds officially put the game out of reach, giving Cal State East Bay the 58-50 victory.
The Wildcats play their final regular season game Saturday in Seaside as they take on Cal State Monterey Bay at The Kelp Bed. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
