POMONA—Every minute matters. The puffy, red eyes of Chico State seniors Whitney Branham and Kayla Taylor provided plenty of proof during the postgame press conference after the Chico State women's basketball team's season-ending 67-48 loss to UC San Diego in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Tournament semifinals Friday night at Kellogg Arena on the campus of Cal Poly Pomona.
 
Despite facing a big deficit against the 25th-ranked Tritons, the Wildcats played hard to the very end, finishing with a 14-1, fourth-quarter run led mostly by their freshmen and sophomores.
 
"I'm extremely proud of the way we finished tonight," Head Coach Brian Fogel said. "It's a great way for our seniors to go out and a great building block for our younger players for next season."
 
Chico State finished the season 17-11 and has the look of a program with a very bright future. The contributions of seniors Branham, Taylor, Haley Cremen and Jo Paine—on the court, and perhaps more importantly on the practice floor, in the gym when no one else was around, and in the locker room—are big reasons why.
 
"Our senior leadership has been outstanding," Fogel told Mike Baca on the AM-1290 KPAY Postgame Show. "That group—Whitney Branham, Kayla Taylor, Haley Cremen, and Jo Paine—has left a lasting impression on our program not just because of what they have accomplished, but because of the traits they have passed down to the next generation of Wildcats."
 
Branham finished with 14 points and two steals. Freshman Hannah Washington had eight points and three assists in just 17 minutes.

 
Freshmen Brynn Thoming and Vanessa Holland hit 3s during Chico State's late push, and sophomore Katie McKenzie had four quick points.
 
Chico State needed a strong night and a little help from UC San Diego to have a chance Friday. Instead, the Wildcats got UC San Diego at its finest.

The Tritons shot 53 percent in the first half and then made 10 of their first 11 second-half attempts. That stretch proved too much for the Wildcats to overcome.
 
"We just dug ourselves too deep a hole," Fogel said. "You can't do that against a team like UC San Diego."
 
But they came to the post-game media session heads held high.
 
"That's just the kind of team and program we have. That's what we pride ourselves in is never giving up and always playing hard," Branham said.
 
It's what Branham always did throughout her brilliant four-year career. It is what she's done throughout her life.
 
Born with a mild case of spina bifida, a birth defect that occurs when the spinal column fails to properly form to protect the spinal cord, Branham underwent multiple surgeries. Her spine was nicked during the first procedure, taking away feeling from much of her left foot.
 
That didn't stop Branham from earning a college scholarship, breaking the school record for career 3-pointers made, rising to fourth on the program's career scoring list, or earning back-to-back CoSIDA Academic All-District honors.
 
"She has been an absolute joy to coach," Fogel said. "She is a young lady that comes to practice and works as hard as she possibly can. She got the maximum out of her potential. She's a gym rat. She's been a phenomenal leader to the younger players. As a coach I try to recruit student-athletes. She exemplifies that to the fullest extent. She's every bit as good a student as she is an athlete. She's been a great role model for the younger players in the program, and we're going to miss her dearly. But she left her footprint on the program."

 
Taylor came to Chico State three seasons ago. The roommates have been tight ever since.
 
"Whitney is my girl. We are like yin and yang," Taylor said. "I love this girl to death, and I can't wait to see what she does in the future."
 
"Kayla and I clicked ever since she stepped on campus, and I couldn't be luckier to have her as a friend," Branham said. "She works so hard, and she makes me work hard. We complement each other in that way. We love the game so much we didn't want it to end. It's sad that it did but we accomplished a lot, and we're really proud of that."
 
They took advantage of every minute, both on and off the court. Those minutes are something no loss can take away.
 
Branham believes that if her young teammates choose to do the same, they have great things in store.
 
"It felt good to get a taste of playoffs last year. This year, we really turned it around," Branham said. "But the younger players, I am excited to see them accomplish even more."