The Chico State women's basketball team is in the midst of a 14-day break from California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) competition, but the Wildcats are far from idle. The Wildcats are busily preparing for their lone contest of the week, a head-to-head matchup with the Banana Slugs of UC Santa Cruz Saturday afternoon at Acker Gym. Tipoff for the non-conference tilt is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Fans can follow the action locally on Newstalk 93.9 KPAY FM, with Mike Baca and Mike Wessels handling the play-by-play. The broadcast will be simulcast on the Internet through the Wildcat Athletics website, which will also feature Live Stats and live streaming video.
Chico State enters Saturday's matinee with an overall record of 10-5 and a 6-4 mark in the CCAA. While the 'Cats sit out conference play this week, the other 12 CCAA teams will be in action both Thursday and Saturday. The Wildcats' next scheduled conference game is a home tilt Thursday, January 23 against Cal State Dominguez Hills.
The Wildcats are riding a modest two-game winning streak, which includes last Thursday's 58-48 victory over San Francisco State.
As a team, Chico State is averaging 62.8 points a game on offense, while holding opponents to 61.6 points a contest—fourth-best among all CCAA teams. The Wildcats rank second in the conference in 3-point field goals (115) and 3-point field goal percentage (34.0 percent), and are third in the CCAA in both assists (13.67 a game) and steals (9.20 per contest).
Individually, Maddy Wong ranks just outside the CCAA top 10 in scoring with a team-high 12.6 points a game, and is second among conference players in 3-pointers (52) and 3-point field goal percentage (44.1 percent). Shay Stark, averaging 9.1 points a contest, has averaged 12 points over her last five games, while Myli Martinez (6.5 points a game) has knocked down 13 treys in her last five contests.
Chico State has won four of its six games this season at Acker Gym.
Saturday marks the first time Chico State women's basketball has faced UC Santa Cruz, which comes to Northern California sporting a 7-9 season record. The Banana Slugs, a Division III school and member of the American Collegiate Athletic Association, will be playing their third game in the last seven days: last Sunday, UC Santa Cruz crushed Bethesda University 82-34, but was tripped up Monday 81-79 by Cal Lutheran, snapping a two-game winning streak.
The Banana Slugs are 1-3 this season away from their home floor, the 2,500-seat Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz.
UC Santa Cruz is averaging 67.4 points a game on the offensive side of the ball, while surrendering 64.1 points a contest.
Sophomore forward Ashley Kowack leads the UC Santa Cruz offense, averaging 15.4 points a game while connecting on 24 3-pointers. Six-foot sophomore forward Kaylee Murphy is averaging a double-double—13.8 points and 12.6 rebounds a game—while blocking 37 shots on the defensive end. Senior guard CJ Catina is the Banana Slugs' top long-distance threat with 31 3-pointers on the season.
