TURLOCK—With Stanislaus State cutting into the Wildcats' fourth-quarter lead with plenty of time left, the Chico State women's basketball team needed an answer.
McKena Barker provided several.
Barker scored 10 of her 18 points in the final period and finished with 13 rebounds, leading the Wildcats to a 67-64 victory over the Warriors on Thursday night at Fitzpatrick Arena in Turlock.
Whitney Branham had 22 points for her 10th game with at least 20 on the season while Barker's third double-double and 11th of her career included five offensive rebounds. The Wildcats totaled eight.
With a third straight win, Chico State improved to 13-9 overall and 11-7 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The victory moves the Wildcats a half-game ahead of Cal State LA for fourth place. The Golden Eagles are at Cal State East Bay for a 5:30 p.m. game Friday in Hayward and take on Cal State Monterey Bay on Saturday in Seaside.
Stanislaus State falls to 9-14 overall and 6-11 in the CCAA before hosting Humboldt State at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The Warriors tallied 18 offensive boards, 10 more than the Wildcats, but the advantage in second-chance points actually belonged to Chico State at 11-8. The Wildcats also outrebounded the hosts overall, 41-37.
The Wildcats got their third road victory of the season in 11 tries by shooting 48.9 percent from the floor, making 22 of 45. The Warriors took 27 more shots but made one less than Chico State, converting 21 of 72 (29.2 percent).
The Wildcats, though, never could get comfortable despite a double-digit lead in the second half as Stanislaus State forced 31 turnovers on the night.
Barker buoyed the Wildcats' efforts. The junior was the lone Wildcat without a turnover and made 8 of 10 shots.
Chico State trailed 19-16 by the end of the first quarter as the Warriors forced 10 turnovers and grabbed six offensive rebounds while the Wildcats had none.
But Chico State revved up in the second quarter, starting the period with a 9-0 run to take a 25-19 advantage. Kayla Taylor made layups off assists from Vanessa Holland and Barker. Holland's third assist led to a Branham jumper before Branham made a 3 on Madison Wong's third assist.
By the time the Warriors scored their first points of the second quarter with 4:34 left, the Wildcats had drawn five charges in the game.
Whitney Branham made 12 of 14 free throws
as part of her 22 points in the Wildcats' win.
A Wong 3 came soon after and two Jo Paine free throws increased the Chico State lead to 30-21 with 1:42 left in the quarter. The margin would stay the same going into halftime as the Wildcats led 32-23. Chico State outscored the Warriors 16-4 in the second quarter.
Jumpers from Barker had the Wildcats' lead grow to 36-23 and then 40-25 with 6:14 left in the third quarter.
The Warriors' press started to force turnovers again, getting 13 in the third quarter alone, matching the first half's total. That helped the hosts twice cut the margin to seven.
But Paine got the ball to Wong, whose touch pass found Barker running the floor for a layup at 45-36 with 1:34 left in the period.
Barker returned the favor, finding Wong for a 3 and a 50-36 lead with 22 seconds left.
Chico State took a 50-39 advantage into the fourth after Angelica Baylon's three-point play got the Warriors closer.
Baylon had 10 points, and Kyanna Davis led Stanislaus State with 15.
Taylor finished with nine points and seven rebounds despite being limited by foul trouble. Wong added nine points and six assists. Branham also had seven rebounds and was 12 of 14 from the line for Chico State.
Stanislaus State's pressure led to more turnovers, as the Warriors started the fourth quarter by making their first 10 tries from the free-throw line as part of a 12-2 advantage that started the period to pull within 52-51 with 6:38 left in the game.
Barker scored six straight Chico State points, the last four coming on a pair of offensive rebounds and put-backs for a 58-53 lead with 3:14 remaining.
Stanislaus State again made it a one-possession game before Branham and Barker were successful on six free-throw attempts, leaving the Wildcats up 65-59 with 48 seconds left.
Down 67-63, Stanislaus State forced another turnover with 13 seconds left before Taylor drew her third charge of the night, helping finish off a season sweep of the Warriors.
The Wildcats beat Stanislaus State 73-61 on Nov. 25 at Acker Gym.
Chico State next plays its final regular-season home games with CCAA-leading UC San Diego coming to Acker Gym for a 5:30 p.m. game on Thursday, Feb. 15, and Cal State San Marcos is the opponent on Senior Night on Saturday, Feb. 17.
