Saturday night Acker Gym will be the setting for two very evenly-matched women's basketball teams, as Chico State goes head-to-head with Cal State San Marcos. The Wildcats, winners of two straight and three of their last four, would like nothing more than to keep the momentum going by evening the season series with the Cougars in what stands to be a key California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) contest. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.
Mike Baca and Mike Wessels will provide the play-by-play for both games locally on Newstalk 1290 KPAY-AM, with the broadcast simulcast on the Internet via the Wildcat Athletics website. Live Stats and live streaming video are also available online.
Cal State San Marcos topped the Wildcats 63-61 in the season's first meeting December 3 at the San Marcos Sports Center. The Cougars lead the all-time series 2-1.
Saturday's contest is a big one for Chico State. With just a handful of conference games remaining, the 'Cats need wins to bolster their chances of snaring one of the eight CCAA Championship Tournament berths.
With just one game scheduled this week, Chico State is 14-7 overall and in sole possession of sixth place in the CCAA standings with a 9-6 conference record. The Wildcats, 9-2 at home this season, scored a pair of big road wins last weekend, coming from behind February 3 to beat Sonoma State 61-56 in overtime, followed the next night by a 55-48 victory over San Francisco State.
Chico State is fourth among the 13 CCAA teams in offense, averaging 63.8 points a game, while the Wildcat defense is the stingiest in the conference, allowing opponents just 57.5 points a contest.
Individually, Whitney Branham is third in the CCAA in scoring, averaging 15.2 points per game. The junior guard leads the conference (and is sixth in the nation among Division II players) in free throw percentage (90.0 percent) and is fourth in 3-point field goals (52).
Kayla Taylor, who notched a new career high versus Sonoma State and then topped it the next night with 17 points against San Francisco State, is averaging 7.7 points a game, but has upped her scoring output to 12.4 points over the last eight games.
Michelle Townsend has been a hot shooter from behind the arc of late, draining six 3-pointers in her last three contests.
Cal State San Marcos, which comes to Chico following a Friday tilt in Turlock against Stanislaus State, enters the week 11-8 on the season and in seventh place in the CCAA with an 8-6 conference mark. The Cougars have won three straight, though they haven't played since January 28, when they beat Sonoma State 58-49.
Cal State San Marcos is 5-3 on the road this season.
Offensively, the Cougars rank sixth in the CCAA, averaging 63.4 points a game. On defense, San Marcos surrenders 65.9 points a contest.
Savannah Camp is the main player the Wildcats need to stop Saturday. The junior guard/forward leads the Cougars in scoring (13.4 points a game), rebounding (5.3 boards a contest) and 3-pointers (35). Also providing a big chunk of the Cougars' offense is senior guard Ashley Jenkins (11 points, 4.2 assists a game) and junior guard Raegan Lillie (10.6 points a game).
A victory over San Marcos would give Chico State 10 home victories in 2016–17, marking the first time a Wildcat women's basketball team has posted double-digit wins at Acker Gym in a single season since the 2013–14 campaign.
