Whitney Branham broke loose. Kayla Taylor slammed her hands on the court and screamed.
The rest of the Chico State women's basketball team soon joined in on a celebration the Wildcats haven't been able to enjoy since 2013.
 
Chico State beat Cal State East Bay for the first time in 10 games Saturday night, 70-64, topping their nemesis by scoring the final six points and holding them without a field goal over the final five minutes.
 
Branham scored 17 points, and McKena Barker had 16 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two blocks while Madison Wong finished with 12 points and seven assists for the Wildcats.
 
The victory leaves Chico State at 12-9 overall, 10-7 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) and tied with Cal State LA for fourth place in the conference.
 
The Wildcats are also 10-1 at home this season with Saturday's victory perhaps the most meaningful considering no player wearing a Chico State uniform had beaten the Pioneers.
 
Cal State East Bay tied the game at 64 on a 3-pointer from Kayley Hsiung with 5:01 left and a Kayla Blair free throw with 3:11 remaining.
 
Morgan Greene led the Pioneers (13-11, 9-9 CCAA) with 29 points on 13-of-17 shooting, 11 rebounds, three blocks, and two steals.
 
However, the Wildcats clamped down on the other Pioneers, holding them to 12-of-40 shooting. Blair, with 12 points, was the team's only other player in double figures.
 
Defense jump-started the decisive, closing stretch. Barker's third steal of the night led to a layup as Wong found her inside for a 66-64 advantage with 1:46 left.
 
The next two offensive trips also came up empty for East Bay, part of a stretch of five straight fruitless possessions.
 
With 30 seconds left, the Pioneers had to foul and foul again with Chico State still not in the bonus.
 
Finally, Branham broke free of the defense and passed to Taylor when her defender broke for Branham. Taylor converted the bucket and was fouled with 16 seconds left.   
 
Taylor slammed her hands down with the Wildcats now up 68-64, nearing a victory after the Pioneers had gotten the best of them in nine straight, including this season's earlier meeting in Hayward, and in the CCAA Championship Tournament last year.
 
Hsuing missed a 3, and Wong made two more free throws to finish the game and start the celebration in earnest.
 
Chico State outscored East Bay 39-29 in the second half after the Pioneers led 35-31 at the break.
 
The comeback began in the third quarter as Branham had 10 of the team's 21 points.
 
Wong hit a 3 to pull within 35-34, and a steal and layup from Barker gave the Wildcats their first lead of the night at 38-37.
 
Branham then hit a 3 for a 48-47 advantage with 1:53 left in the third, and another 3 from her, this one with 18 seconds remaining, provided the 52-50 lead that Chico State would take into the fourth.
 
The lead swelled to 60-53 on a Vanessa Holland 3 with 7:56 left in the game. That capped a 6-0 run that came after a Blair 3 ended another 6-0 stretch for the Wildcats.
 
The Pioneers tied it at 64 before Chico State toppled East Bay with one more 6-0 run to finish off a victory that was a long time coming.
 
The game started with Greene, the conference's leading rebounder, getting her first of 11 boards and then converting a three-point play on the other end.
 
The sophomore had 11 of East Bay's 19 points in the quarter. But Chico State never let the Pioneers pull away. A Branham 3 had the Wildcats within 17-14, and they trailed by five after the first 10 minutes.
 
Taylor found Wong for a 3 that tied the game at 23 with 7:18 remaining in the second quarter. Brynn Thoming then scored the Wildcats' final four points of the half with assists from Wong and Branham, who had three on the night.
 
Taylor had three steals and seven rebounds, helping the Wildcats close the gap in that department to 33-29 against East Bay after it held a 22-13 rebounding advantage at halftime.
 
The Pioneers had outscored Chico State 28-8 in the paint at that point. In the second half, the Wildcats held the upper hand inside, outscoring East Bay 18-12 there.
 
Chico State has one game next week as the Wildcats visit Stanislaus State at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday in Turlock.