The regular season is winding down, and the Chico State women's basketball team is very much in the hunt for a top-four conference finish and a first round home game in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championship Tournament. The Wildcats are faced with a couple of major challenges this week as they prepare to host conference-leading UC San Diego Thursday and a hungry Cal State San Marcos squad Saturday in the final regular season contests at Acker Gym. Tipoff for both games is set for 5:30 p.m.
 
Saturday's game vs. Cal State San Marcos is also Senior Night, with the Wildcats honoring seniors Whitney Branham, Kayla Taylor, Jo Paine and Haley Cremen in a special pre-game ceremony.
 
Mike Baca and Mike Wessels will be courtside to call the action of both games locally on Newstalk 1290-AM KPAY, with the broadcasts simulcast on the Internet through the Wildcat Athletics website. Live Stats and live streaming video will also be available online.
 
Chico State is riding a three-game winning streak and enter the week 13-9 overall, and in fifth place in the CCAA with an 11-7 conference record. A strong finish over the final four games of the regular season—the Wildcats face San Francisco State and Sonoma State on the road next week—and the 'Cats will clinch their second straight postseason appearance.
 
Chico State has been taking care of business at home, winning 10 of 11 games at Acker Gym this season.
 
In their lone contest last week, the Wildcats outlasted Stanislaus State 67-64 in Turlock.
 
Chico State will take on a UC San Diego team Thursday that has won six straight and holds a hefty four-and-a-half game lead atop the CCAA standings. The Tritons (21-3, 17-1 CCAA) added to the streak last weekend with wins over Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino. 
 
In the first meeting of the season, UC San Diego blasted the Wildcats 84-48 January 6 at RIMAC Arena in La Jolla.
 
UC San Diego is a perfect 10-0 on the road this season.
 
Cal State San Marcos, which comes to Chico Saturday following a Thursday road matchup with Humboldt State, enters the week reeling from four consecutive losses. The Cougars dropped close decisions last week to both Cal State San Bernardino and Cal Poly Pomona to fall to 7-15 overall and into a three-way tie for ninth place in the CCAA with a 7-11 conference mark.
 
The Wildcats were victorious in the first meeting of the season with San Marcos, scoring a rare road victory. The 'Cats edged the 71-66 back on January 5.
 
Cal State San Marcos enters the week with just two wins in 13 road games this season.
 
Chico State continues to lead the CCAA (and rank third in all of Division II) in free throw percentage, hitting 82 percent of its foul shots. The Wildcats are second among the 13 conference teams in scoring (69.5 points a game), field goal percentage (43.3 percent), 3-point field goal percentage (37.3 percent), and assists (16.2 a game).
 
Individually, Whitney Branham is tops in the CCAA in scoring (18.6 points a game) and is second in 3-point field goals (53). She is only six treys away from becoming the No. 1 3-point shooter in Chico State history.
 
McKena Barker leads the CCAA in free throw percentage (89.6 percent), and ranks 14th in the nation. Madison Wong is second in the conference in assists (118) and assists per game (5.4).
 
UC San Diego tops the CCAA in scoring (73.0 points a game) and 3-point field goals (176), while holding opponents to just 60.7 points a contest. The Tritons are led by senior forward Dalayna Sampton and junior forward Mikayla Williams, combining for nearly 30 points and 20 rebounds a game. Junior guard Kayla Sato contributes 11.8 points a game, while junior guard Joleen Yang is the CCAA's top 3-pointer shooter with 58 treys on the season.
 
UC San Diego has won 17 of the last 20 meetings with Chico State, but the three Wildcats wins during that span have all been at Acker Gym.
 
Cal State San Marcos is averaging 64.8 points a game on offense, but gives up 70 points on the defensive end. The Cougars like to hoist it from 3-point range, and have racked up 137 3's on the season.
 
The top scorer for San Marcos is senior guard Savannah Camp, averaging 18.2 points a game while connecting for a team-high 39 3-pointers. Junior guards Juliet Jones and Baylee Olson have combined for another 50 3-pointers, and senior forward Lupe Cruz is the Cougars' top rebounder, averaging 5.9 boards a contest.
 
Cal State San Marcos owns a 3-2 lead in the all-time series with the Wildcats. Interestingly, Chico State is 0-2 against the Cougars at Acker Gym.