The final two games of the regular season are sure to include plenty of emotion for the Chico State women's basketball team. After all, Thursday's tilt against San Francisco State will pit the Wildcats against the Gators and their head coach, former 'Cats legend Natasha Smith. And Saturday's Senior Night contest is not only a huge rivalry game versus Sonoma State, it will serve as the home farewell for McKena Barker and Natalie Valenzuela. With a postseason berth also hanging in the balance, the Wildcats will also be sporting a completely different set of emotions—more along the lines of  "taking care of business"—when they take the floor this week at Acker Gym.
 
Mike Baca and Mike Wessels will be courtside to provide the play-by-play for both games, broadcast locally on Newstalk 1290-AM and 102.9 FM KPAY, and simulcast on the Internet via the Wildcat Athletics website. Live Stats and live streaming video will also be available online.
 
Chico State is looking to close out February with something that has eluded the Wildcats the entire month: a victory. The Wildcats—12-11 overall and in a tie with Cal State Dominguez Hills for sixth place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with a 9-11 conference record—head into the final two regular season games having lost six in a row and seven of their last eight. The 'Cats fell in excruciating fashion twice last week, bowing to Cal State LA 52-51 and Cal State Dominguez Hills 86-76 in overtime.
 
Despite their recent tailspin, the 'Cats can still earn a trip to the postseason with solid performances this week in the friendly confines of Acker Gym. Chico State can clinch one of the eight CCAA Tournament berths as early as Thursday: a win over San Francisco State, coupled with a Sonoma State loss to Humboldt State, will ensure the Wildcats the program's third straight postseason appearance.
 
Should the Wildcats come up short against San Francisco State, things get extremely murky. With only one game separating sixth from 10th place in the CCAA standings heading into the week, Chico State will be plunged into a myriad of tiebreaker scenarios following Saturday's season finale to determine if the team is conference tournament bound—or if the 'Cats' 2018–19 campaign comes to an abrupt end.
 
Both of Chico State's opponents are still alive for a CCAA Tournament slot, and though the Seawolves and Gators need to win twice this week and get some help to extend their season, the two teams will be pulling out all the stops against the Wildcats.
 
San Francisco State, which faces the 'Cats Thursday, starts the week 9-16 overall and tied with Sonoma State for ninth place in the CCAA with an 8-12 conference mark. Like Chico State, the Gators are also in the grip of a less-than-fruitful run, having lost three straight games and nine of their last 10. Last week San Francisco State fell lost 75-62 to postseason-bound Cal State San Marcos, and 77-55 to CCAA-leading and No. 2-ranked UC San Diego.
 
Chico State won the first meeting of the season between the two teams, downing the Gators 63-48 back on December 1 at The Swamp in San Francisco. Chico State has won the last six matchups with the Gators and lead the all-time series 76-23.
 
Sonoma State, which takes on the Wildcats following a Thursday night contest in Arcata against Humboldt State, is 10-13 on the season and owns a share of ninth place in the CCAA with an 8-12 conference mark. The Seawolves are in the midst of a three-game losing streak, bowing by 18 last week to UC San Diego and by 14 to Cal State San Marcos.
 
Saturday will mark the first time this season Chico State and Sonoma State have met on the hardwood. The Wildcats have won 23 of the last 29 contests with the Seawolves dating back to the 2002–03 season, losing just twice at Acker Gym during that stretch.
 
Saturday will feature a special Senior Night ceremony to salute Barker and Valenzuela, who will be playing the final home games of their Wildcat careers. Barker is averaging a double-double on the season (10.3 points, 10.7 rebounds a game), and currently ranks No. 4 on Chico State's all-time rebounding list with 751 career boards. Valenzuela, averaging a career-high 10.5 points a game, enters her last two home games ranked No. 3 in Wildcats history in blocked shots (117) and eighth in career field goal percentage (48.9 percent).