The Chico State women's basketball team is hard to beat wherever it plays, but at Acker Gym, the Wildcats have proven to be particularly tough to top. Visiting Cal State San Bernardino forced the 'Cats to play a solid 40 minutes Thursday, but the hard work paid off for Head Coach Brian Fogel's squad, which held the Coyotes scoreless over the final 2:54 to grind out a 64-57 win and raise its home record to a perfect 7-0 on the season.
 
Thursday's win—Chico State's fifth in the last six games—moves the Wildcats to 9-6 overall and into a three-way tie with Humboldt State and Cal State East Bay in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) standings. Cal State San Bernardino dropped to 6-9 on the season and 4-7 in conference play.

 

Three Wildcats scored in double figures, with Whitney Branham leading the way with 19 points. The senior guard reached three career milestones on the evening: she passed Jazmine Miller and moved into ninth place on Chico State's all-time scoring list (1,244 points); tied Melissa Richardson for third in career 3-pointers (174), and tied Natasha Smith for fourth in Wildcat history in free throws (318).
 
Kayla Taylor was 7-for-13 from the field to register 14 points on the night, while Madison Wong drained four 3-pointers to finish with 12 points in addition to dishing out six assists. McKena Barker led the Wildcats with six rebounds and contributed eight points.
 
The Wildcats came out blazing in the first quarter, jumping out to a big 16-4 lead on the strength of Branham and Wong 3-pointers and buckets by Barker, Taylor and Vanessa Holland. Chico State was still enjoying a double-digit advantage when San Bernardino outscored the 'Cats 8-2 over the final 3:14 of the period to cut the deficit to 23-16.
 
The two teams played to a draw in the second quarter, although Chico State saw another double-digit lead slip away. Two Branham free throws, a Barker jumper and a Wong 3-pointer put the Wildcats up by a dozen, but the Coyotes used an 11-2 run to pull to within 32-29. The 'Cats recovered with six unanswered points—Taylor connecting on back-to-back jumpers in the 6-0 stretch—to extend Chico State's lead to nine. A late San Bernardino layup gave the Wildcats a 38-31 halftime advantage.
 
Chico State pushed the lead back to 10 three minutes into the third quarter, but could only connect on three shots for the rest of the period. The Coyotes' offense heated up, and a 15-5 run knotted up the contest at 47-all. A Branham jumper with 16 seconds left gave the 'Cats a slim 49-47 lead heading into the final 10-minute stanza.
 
The game was tied again at 51-apiece when the Wildcats took the lead for good on a layup by Taylor. Chico State twice went up by five, but San Bernardino hung around, and with 2:54 remaining the 'Cats were clinging to a 58-57 lead. The Wildcat defense came through in crunch time and stymied the Coyotes the rest of the way, and Barker and Branham were a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line down the stretch to cement Chico State's 64-57 victory, avenging December's 15-point loss to the Coyotes at Coussoulis Arena in San Bernardino.    
 
Chico State takes Friday off before returning to action Saturday, when the Wildcats host Cal Poly Pomona (11-4, 8-2 CCAA) at Acker Gym. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.