When the Chico State and Humboldt State women's basketball teams first met last November, the two programs had exactly one win between them. Fast forward to late January—both the Wildcats and Lumberjacks find themselves deadlocked in the upper reaches of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) standings, fighting for the chance to host a first round conference tournament game and bolster their standing in the NCAA West Region rankings. In what has developed as an important CCAA contest, the 'Cats and 'Jacks tangle again Saturday at Acker Gym, with tipoff scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
Mike Baca and Mike Wessels will be courtside to call the action locally on Newstalk 1290-AM KPAY, with the broadcast simulcast on the Internet through the Wildcat Athletics website. Live Stats and live streaming video will also be available online.
Chico State won the first meeting of the season with Humboldt State. Fueled by Whitney Branham's career-high 31, the Wildcats posted a 70-58 victory November 18 at Lumberjack Arena in Arcata.
Saturday's contest may hinge on which team can establish itself underneath the basket. Chico State and Humboldt State sit at the bottom of the CCAA rankings in both rebounds and blocked shots.
Chico State enters its lone game of the week having won two straight and six of the last seven to move to 10-6 overall and into a share of third place with Humboldt State in the CCAA with an 8-4 conference mark. The Wildcats, a perfect 8-0 at home this season, won twice last week at Acker Gym, downing Cal State San Bernardino 64-57 on January 11, followed by a huge 71-59 victory over second place Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday.
The 'Cats entered the week as the CCAA's No. 3 team in scoring, averaging 70.1 points a game. Chico State leads the conference in 3-point shooting percentage (37.0 percent) and free throw shooting percentage (84.2 percent), while ranking second in field goal percentage (42.0 percent) and assists (16.3 a game).
Individually, Branham is back at the top of the conference rankings in scoring, averaging 18.8 points a game, while connecting for a CCAA-best (and fifth-best in all of Division II) 92.5 percent of her free throws. Branham's 39 3-pointers are tied for second-most among conference players.
Though just under the minimum to be included in the official CCAA rankings, Kayla Taylor has hit a conference-best 57.8 percent of her field goal attempts. Madison Wong is second in assists (86) and third in assists per game (5.4).
Humboldt State comes to Acker Gym sporting a 9-8 overall record and 8-4 mark in the CCAA. After winning seven straight to offset its 1-5 start, the Lumberjacks have cooled off a bit in January, losing three straight before returning to the win column last Saturday with a 71-53 victory over Cal State San Bernardino.
Humboldt State is 3-6 on the road this season. Interestingly, though, the Lumberjacks have beaten Chico State in the last four meetings at Acker Gym.
Humboldt is in the middle of the CCAA pack in offense, averaging 65.5 points a game. Defensively, the Lumberjacks rank third in the 13-team conference, allowing just 61.6 points a contest.
The 'Jacks like to hoist it from behind the 3-point arc. Humboldt attempts an average of nearly 21 treys a contest, and is second in the CCAA with 116 made 3-pointers.
The Lumberjacks are led by sophomore guard Tyla Turner. The transfer from Division I Long Beach State is averaging 17.8 points (third in the CCAA), 6.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists a game. Junior forward Isamar Conde contributes 9.9 points and 5.2 boards a contest, while senior forward Kindall Murie averages 9.6 points a game and hit a team-high 32 3-pointers.
Chico State has won the last two meetings with Humboldt State and leads the all-time series 69-26.
