Three times during the still-young 2019–20 season, the Chico State women's basketball team has come up big in crunch time and pulled out exciting fourth quarter victories. The Wildcats were hoping to weave some more late-minute magic Thursday in their California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) opener against Stanislaus State, but on this night it was the Warriors who ruled the final 10-minute stanza. Stanislaus hit seven of 11 shots in the fourth quarter—including four from 3-point range—to post a 71-66 win at Acker Gym.
 
Thursday's loss snapped Chico State's three-game winning streak, dropping the Wildcats to 4-2 on the season and 0-1 in the CCAA. Stanislaus State improved to 2-3 overall and 1-0 in conference play.
 
Maddy Wong knocked down five 3-pointers to lead the Wildcats with 17 points, with Shay Stark contributing a season-high 15 points. Hannah Washington scored 11 points and pulled down seven rebounds, while Daisha Abdelkader turned in an eight-point, eight-assist performance.
 
The Wildcats led through most of the first quarter, moving out in front on Wong's first trey of the night and extending the advantage to five as a Stark three-point play made the score 15-10. Stark would later bury a jumper, but Stanislaus was able to creep to within a point at 17-16 at the end of the period.
 
The Chico State defense clamped down in the second quarter, as the Warriors hit just two of 16 shots from the field. Unfortunately, the Wildcats didn't fare much better, missing eight of their 12 field goal attempts. The 'Cats were able to push their lead to seven with a Wong 3-pointer and buckets by Myli Martinez and Haley Ison to make it a 24-17 game. Stanislaus answered by scoring the next six points to narrow the deficit to one, but a Stark 3-pointer with 1:15 left in the period gave Chico State a 27-23 halftime lead.
 
The tide started to turn late in the third quarter. A pair of 3-pointers by Wong gave the 'Cats an eight-point lead, and with 1:25 remaining in the period Chico State was still up 49-41 when the Warriors dropped in three buckets to pull to within 49-47 heading into the fateful fourth quarter.
 
Stanislaus quickly grabbed a 50-49 advantage in the final period, but the Wildcats clawed their way back into the lead on baskets by Stark and Washington. Chico State was up 55-53 with 7:05 remaining, only to see the Warriors go on a 10-2 run to jump in front 63-57. Stanislaus would not relinquish the lead, and despite 3-pointers in the final minute by Wong and Vanessa Holland, there would be no fourth quarter comeback for the 'Cats. The Warriors knocked down three late free throws and ran out the clock to score the 71-66 victory.   
 
The Wildcats play their final game before the Thanksgiving break Saturday, taking on the Pioneers of Cal State East Bay (3-2, 1-0 CCAA). Tipoff at Acker Gym is slated for 5:30 p.m.