Despite suffering its first home loss of the season last Saturday, the Chico State women's basketball team still finds itself in the top half of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) standings. The Wildcats will once again be put to the test this weekend, as they travel to Southern California for an important pair of conference contests. The 'Cats go head-to-head with Cal State Dominguez Hills on Friday, followed by a Saturday showdown with Cal State LA. Both games will tip off at 5:30 p.m.
Mike Baca will be courtside to provide the play-by-play for both games, broadcast locally on Newstalk 1290-AM KPAY and simulcast on the Internet via the Wildcat Athletics website. Live Stats and live streaming video will also be available through the Wildcat Athletics website.
Chico State enters the weekend 10-7 on the season and in fourth place in the CCAA standings with an 8-5 conference record, just one game back of third place Humboldt State and two games behind second place Cal Poly Pomona.
Though the Wildcats dropped a 69-60 decision to Humboldt State last Saturday at Acker Gym, Chico State has won six of its last eight contests. The 'Cats will need to kick it up a notch on their SoCal trek—heading into this weekend's games, Chico State is just 2-6 on the road this season. The 'Cats are also looking to complete series sweeps of both the Toros and the Golden Eagles.
The Wildcats are leading the CCAA in 3-point field goal percentage (37.2 percent) and free throw percentage (84.6 percent—tops in all of Division II). Chico State is second in the 13-team conference in field goal percentage (43.8 percent), and third in scoring (69.5 points per game) and assists (15.8 a contest).
Whitney Branham continues to be the CCAA's top scorer, averaging 18.6 points a game. Branham also tops the conference (and is fifth in the nation) in free throw shooting, hitting 92.8 percent of her charity tosses.
Kayla Taylor has connected on 57.9 percent of her field goal attempts, while Madison Wong is third in assists (86) and assists per game (5.1).
Cal State Dominguez Hills, the Wildcats' Friday night opponent, is 9-10 on the season and tied with Cal State LA for sixth place in the CCAA with a 7-7 conference mark. After winning five of their first six CCAA games, the Toros have dropped six of the last eight, including losses last week to Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino.
Dominguez Hills has proven tough to beat at home, fashioning a 6-2 record at the Torodome this season.
Despite its recent struggles, Dominguez Hills is still one of the conference's top scoring teams, averaging 69.9 points a game. The Toros' defense, though, surrenders a league-worst 72.5 points per contest.
Dominguez Hills is led by junior guard/forward Nautica Morrow, who ranks second only to Branham among the CCAA scoring leaders with an 18.4 points-per-game average. Senior forward Taylor Ferris averages 12.3 points and 8.9 rebounds a contest, while junior guards Heaven Holmes and Zhane Carter have combined for over 34 points a game while draining 78 3-pointers between them.
Chico State topped the Toros 74-57 in their first meeting of the season December 31 at Acker Gym. The Wildcats have won the last two matchups with Dominguez Hills and lead the all-time series 39-16.
Cal State LA, which faces the 'Cats following its Friday meeting with Humboldt State, begins the week 8-12 overall and owning a share of sixth place in the CCAA with a 7-7 conference record. The Golden Eagles, coached by Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller, have won two of their last three decisions, but fell 53-38 last Saturday to Cal Poly Pomona.
Cal State LA is 6-4 this season on its home floor, University Gym.
The Golden Eagles are averaging 61.3 points per game as a team (11th in the CCAA), while allowing the opposition 64.7 points a contest.
Senior center Rikke Fabricius is Cal State LA's go-to player, averaging a team-high 14.2 points and 9.9 rebounds a game. Junior guard Christine Delapina contributes 9.5 points and 4.5 assists a night, while sophomore guard Madison Adams (6.8 ppg) is the Golden Eagles' top 3-point shooter, with 29 treys on the season.
In the first meeting of the season between the two teams, Chico State came away with a hard-fought 64-55 victory December 29 at Acker Gym. The Wildcats have won three of the last four contests with Cal State LA and lead the all-time series 35-14.
