CARSON—For most of the first three quarters Friday at the Torodome, it looked like the Chico State women's basketball team was going to erase its season-long frustration on the road, building a pair of double-digit leads in the first half against Cal State Dominguez Hills, and owning a nine-point advantage midway through the third quarter. The end result was a familiar one, though, as the host Toros rallied back to outscore the Wildcats 15-5 in the final 4:12 to win 79-71 and hand Chico State its seventh loss in nine tries away from Acker Gym.
Friday's loss—Chico State's second straight—was a costly one. The Wildcats dropped to 10-8 on the season and 8-6 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), falling behind Cal State East Bay and into fifth place in the ever-tightening conference standings. Cal State Dominguez Hills evened its season record at 10-10, and moved to within a half-game of the 'Cats with an 8-7 conference mark. With Cal State LA also winning Friday, only one-half game separates third from sixth place in the CCAA.
Kayla Taylor led four Wildcats in double figures with 17 points, while also grabbing seven rebounds. McKena Barker recorded 15 points and seven boards, and Whitney Branham added 14 points to the 'Cats' attack. Madison Wong hit three 3-pointers on the way to an 11-point night, while dishing out five assists.
Cal State Dominguez Hills opened the scoring in the first quarter, but for the rest of the period it was all Wildcats. With the score tied at four-all, Chico State ripped off a 16-2 run—Barker hit a layup and converted a three-point play, Branham drained a pair of jumpers and a free throw, and Jo Paine chipped in with two buckets—to race out to a 20-6 lead. The Toros countered with five unanswered points to cut the deficit to single digits, but a 3-pointer by Wong closed out the quarter and gave the 'Cats a 23-11 lead.
Dominguez Hills came roaring back at the beginning of the second period, using an 11-0 run to pull to within one. Chico State switched to a zone defensively that slowed down the Toros offense, and combined with layups by Barker and Taylor, and another Wong 3-pointer, the Wildcats pushed their advantage to 30-22. A Toros 3-pointer made it a five-point game, but the 'Cats extended their lead back to double digits courtesy of a 10-2 run—Taylor leading the charge with three field goals—to put Chico State up 40-27. Dominguez Hills scored the final five points of the quarter, and the Wildcats went into halftime with a 40-32 lead.
Chico State twice built a nine-point lead early in the third quarter, but went scoreless for the next four minutes. The Toros, meanwhile, went on a 13-0 run to jump out in front 51-47. The Wildcats recovered, and thanks to layups by Barker and Branham, Chico State and Dominguez Hills were tied at 51-all heading into the final 10-minute stanza.
Dominguez Hills grabbed the upper hand early in the fourth quarter, twice posting a four-point lead. With the score 58-54, two 3-pointers by Vanessa Holland and jumpers by Taylor and Barker highlighted a 10-5 Chico State run, putting the 'Cats in front 64-63 with 4:52 to play. A Paine jumper put Chico State up 66-64, but the Wildcats' offense went silent at exactly the wrong time, scoring just two baskets in the final 4:12 as the Toros outscored the Wildcats 15-5 down the stretch to roll to the 79-71 victory.
The Wildcats are back in action Saturday, wrapping up the weekend SoCal road swing against Cal State LA. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Mike Baca will provide the play-by-play locally on Newstalk 1290-AM KPAY, with the broadcast simulcast on the Internet via the Wildcat Athletics website. Live Stats and live streaming video will also be available through the Wildcat Athletics website.
