The Chico State women's basketball team was looking for some kind of jolt to shake its recent offensive doldrums—not to mention put an end to a two game mini-losing streak. That's just what they got Saturday against Cal State LA, as Maddy Wong and Shay Stark stepped up to lead the Wildcats to a 40-point first half and a 21-point lead at intermission. Despite a Golden Eagles rally that cut a 25-point fourth quarter deficit to nine, the 'Cats had little trouble securing a 69-57 victory at Acker Gym.
Saturday's win improved Chico State's season record to 11-7 and 7-5 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). Cal State LA saw its three game winning streak go by the boards, dropping to 8-11 overall and 6-7 in CCAA play.
Wong buried six 3-pointers to finish with 21 points, tying her single game season high. Her second trey of the night moved Wong past Wildcats great Audi Spencer and into second place of Chico State's career 3-pointers list. Now with 201 3-pointers, she stands just seven treys shy of tying former teammate Whitney Branham for the most long-distance baskets in Chico State history.
Stark contributed a season-high 18 points, with Hannah Washington posting her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Myli Martinez added eight points and four assists as the 'Cats shot over 48 percent from the field en route to avenging an 80-55 road loss to the Golden Eagles back on January 2.
Wong set the evening's tone with a 3-pointer less than a minute into the contest, and with Martinez, Haley Ison, Vanessa Holland, and Mikaila Wegenke adding early buckets, Chico State shot out to a 15-4 lead. While the Wildcats' defense held Cal State LA to just one field goal in the period, Wong nailed another 3-pointer and Stark dropped in a layup to close out the quarter to extend Chico State's advantage to 20-6.
Fuled by baskets from Stark, Washington, and Brynn Thoming, the 'Cats opened the second quarter on a 9-2 run to push the lead to 29-8. Later in the period Martinez and Wong hit 3-pointers and Stark buried a jumper to extend the 'Cats' advantage to 23 points, and Chico State went into halftime with a comfortable 40-19 lead.
Cal State LA's offense finally starting making some noise in the third quarter, but Chico State always seemed to have an answer. The Golden Eagles twice crept to within 16 points, only to see the Wildcats respond with another 3-pointer by Wong and important run-stopping free throws by Washington and Martinez. The two teams headed into the final 10-minute stanza with the 'Cats owning a 56-36 lead.
A 3-point basket and a fast break layup by Wong put Chico State up 61-38 with a little over seven minutes remaining, but rather than rolling over, Cal State LA went on a 19-5 run to cut the deficit to nine. It took nearly the entire period for the Golden Eagles to get that close, though, and with the clock working against Cal State LA, the Wildcats salted the contest away with late free throws by Wong and Stark to post the 69-57 victory.
The Wildcats are on the road next week for a pair of conference contests. Thursday at 7:30 p.m., the 'Cats are in Hayward to take on Cal State East Bay, followed by a 1 p.m. game Saturday in Seaside against Cal State Monterey Bay.
