Box Score SAN FRANCISCO—The 2019–20 edition of the Chico State women's basketball team gave the University of San Francisco all it could handle Saturday afternoon in the opening two quarters of their preseason exhibition tilt at War Memorial Gymnasium at the Sobrato Center. Head Coach Brian Fogel's scrappy Wildcats squad trailed by only four at the break, but the Division I Dons—led by former 'Cats' head coach Molly Goodenbour—outscored Chico State 67-34 in the final 20 minutes of play to roll to 105-68 win.
The game does not count on the Wildcats' official season record.
Junior guard Shay Stark, who scored 15 points when Chico State and USF met last season, led the Wildcats with 13 points Saturday while contributing three rebounds and three steals. Maddy Wong and Myli Martinez each scored eight points for the 'Cats, with Hannah Washington hauling in a team-high four rebounds.
Chico State shot well against the Dons, converting on 40 percent of its field goal attempts. The Wildcats were particularly effective from long distance, draining 11-of-21 from beyond the 3-point arc. Martinez, Vanessa Holland, and Bailey Jones each knocked down a pair of treys on the afternoon.
Mikaila Wegenke scored the game's first bucket 30 seconds into the first quarter, but USF jumped out in front with an 11-0 run. The Dons stretched their lead to 19-4 when Chico State scored the period's final 14 points—Martinez and Brynn Thoming both nailed a 3-pointer, with Stark and Washington adding a bucket apiece—to trail by just 19-18 heading into the second quarter.
The 'Cats kept firing away from long distance in the second period, with back-to-back 3-balls by Holland and Wong knotting up the contest at 24-all. With the scored tied 28-28, USF outscored Chico State 10-6 over the final 3:32 of the quarter to take a 38-34 lead into intermission.
A Stark layup to open the third quarter pulled the Wildcats to within two, but USF reeled off nine straight points to quickly extend its advantage to 47-36. Chico State whittled the deficit to nine, only to see the Dons close out the quarter on a 21-8 run to take control of the contest and balloon their lead to 68-46.
Chico State enjoyed its most productive offensive quarter in the fourth quarter—Wong and Mikaela Bismillah each knocked down a field goal, with Jones, Jasmine Hess, and Haley Ison all connecting from behind the 3-point arc—but so did USF, outscoring the Wildcats 37-22 in the final 10-minute stanza to win going away by a final of 105-68.
The Wildcats begin regular season play Saturday, November 9, when they go head-to-head with Notre Dame de Namur in the opener of the two-day CCAA/PacWest Challenge in Belmont.
