The start of the evening was nothing but smiles at Acker Gym Saturday, as Wildcat fans assembled to extend a warm Senior Night sendoff to Chico State women's basketball players McKena Barker and Natalie Valenzuela. By the end of the Wildcats' subsequent 71-59 loss at the hands of Sonoma State, there weren't many smiles to be found. The 'Cats' eighth straight loss resulted in Chico State failing to secure one of the eight California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Tournament berths, and seeing the 2018–19 season come to an unsatisfying end.

 

The Wildcats finished with an overall record of 12-13, and were part of a four-way tie for seventh place in the CCAA standings. That left the final two conference tournament berths to be determined by tiebreakers involving the four teams, which enabled Sonoma State and San Francisco State to grab the seventh and eighth seeds. Chico State and Cal State San Bernardino were the two teams left on the outside looking in.
 
Doubly frustrating for the Wildcats is, as it turned out, a win Saturday would have clinched a postseason slot. But Chico State's bid to end the program's longest losing streak in 29 years was scuttled Saturday by subpar shooting, as the 'Cats connected on just 25 percent of their field goal attempts. The Wildcats' lack of offensive production forced them to play catch-up nearly the entire night, and Sonoma State was able to roll to the victory that would launch the Seawolves into the CCAA Tournament instead.
 
In her last game as a Wildcat, Barker posted her 10th double-double of the season and 22nd of her career, leading the team with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Madison Wong drained four 3-pointers and finished with 13 points, while Vanessa Holland also hit from long distance four times on the way to a 12-point night. Valenzuela's final game in a Chico State uniform resulted in seven points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two blocked shots, giving her 120 for her Wildcat career.

 

The 'Cats fought back from an early 5-0 first quarter deficit, as a Holland 3-pointer, a pair of buckets by Barker, and two Shay Stark free throws put Chico State up 9-8. Not only was the lead short-lived, it was the only time the Wildcats led the entire game. Sonoma State was back in front 12-11 by the end of the period, and led by as many as nine in the second quarter before Holland and Barker nailed late 3-pointers to trim the Seawolves' advantage to 27-23 at halftime.
 
Chico State pulled to within three points on three different occasions in the third quarter, but despite two 3-pointers by Wong and a trey by Holland in the period, Sonoma State never relinquished the lead. It was still anybody's ballgame heading into the final 10-minute stanza, though, with the Seawolves up 46-40.
 
The Wildcats crept to within five early in the fourth quarter thanks to a Wong 3-pointer, but Chico State could connect on only four of its final 16 field goal attempts the rest of the way. Sonoma State burned over six minutes off the clock while fashioning a 14-5 run to extend its lead to 62-48, and despite 3-pointers in the final minutes by Wong and Holland, the Wildcats could not dig themselves out of a double-digit hole. The Seawolves ran out the clock to register the 71-59 victory, punching their ticket to the CCAA Tournament while eclipsing the Wildcats' hope of reaching postseason play for the third straight season.