The Chico State women's basketball team has turned the calendar page and hopes to begin the 2018 portion of its season the way it ended 2017. The Wildcats, winners of three straight and four of their last five games, take to the road this weekend for a pair of challenging California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) contests. The 'Cats will be in Southern California to take on Cal State San Marcos Friday, followed by a Saturday showdown with conference-leading UC San Diego. Both games get underway 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 7-5 on the season and sitting in fourth place in the CCAA with a 5-3 conference record. The Wildcats closed out 2017 last week with a pair of home victories, beating Cal State LA 64-55 on Friday and Cal State Dominguez Hills 74-57 in a New Year's Eve matinee Sunday at Acker Gym.
 
The 'Cats continue to boast the CCAA's top offense, averaging 72.3 points a game. Chico State is also tops among the 13-team conference in field goal percentage (43.1 percent), 3-point field goal percentage (37.1 percent), free throw percentage (85.0 percent) and assists (17.6 a game).
 
Despite holding its last two opponents to under 60 points, Chico State ranks just eighth in the CCAA in defense, allowing an average of 67.5 points per contest.
 
The Wildcats have also struggled on the road this season, winning just one of six contests away from the friendly confines of Acker Gym.
 
Individually, Whitney Branham is No. 1 in the CCAA in scoring, averaging 20.0 points a game, while topping all conference players in free throw percentage (93.2 percent—ninth-best in all of Division II) and 3-pointers per game (2.8).
 
Kayla Taylor is the CCAA leader in field goal percentage (58.8 percent), and Madison Wong ranks third in the conference in assists, averaging 5.5 a game.
 
Cal State San Marcos brings a 2-8 record into Friday's contest with the 'Cats, but the Cougars are currently playing arguably their best basketball of the season. Though in 10th place in the CCAA with a 2-4 conference record, San Marcos beat San Francisco State last Sunday 82-68 and took Stanislaus State to overtime before falling to the Warriors 62-57 on December 29th.
 
The Cougars are 2-1 this season on their home floor, the San Marcos Sports Center.
 
The Cougars are averaging 64.5 points a game on offense, but like Chico State, have scuffled on defense this season. San Marcos surrenders an average of 71.8 points a contest.
 
Senior guard/forward Savannah Camp is the Cougars' top player, averaging 16.0 points and 5.9 rebounds a game, but injuries have forced her to miss the last three contests. Senior guard Reagan Lillie contributes 9.2 points a game to the San Marcos offense, while senior guard Stephanie Somers in the Cougars' most reliable 3-point shooter, netting 17 treys on the season.
 
San Marcos beat Chico State in each of the team's two meetings last season. The Cougars lead the all-time series 3-1.
 
UC San Diego, which entertains the Wildcats Saturday following its Friday matchup against Humboldt State, is 11-2 overall and a perfect 7-0 in CCAA play. The Tritons are currently riding a seven-game winning streak, thanks to victories last week over San Francisco State and Stanislaus State.
 
UC San Diego is 4-1 on its home floor, RIMAC Arena in La Jolla.
 
Offensively, the Tritons trail only Chico State among the CCAA scoring leaders, averaging 70.9 points a game. UC San Diego also owns one of the stingiest defenses in the conference, allowing just 59.3 points per contest.
 
The Tritons are spearheaded by senior forward Dalayna Sampton, among the CCAA leaders with averages of 14.2 points and 10.8 rebounds a game. Sophomore forward Mikayla Williams delivers 12.8 points and 9.1 rebounds per contest, with junior guard Kayla Sato averaging 10.4 points a game. Junior guard Joleen Yang (9.6 points a game) is UC San Diego's top 3-point shooter, with 29 on the season.
 
The Tritons were 2-0 against the Wildcats last season, and have won 16 of the last 19 meetings with Chico State dating back to the 2008–09 season. The last time the 'Cats won a game at RIMAC Arena was a 79-69 victory back on December 1, 2006.