With just 10 games remaining in the regular season, the Chico State women's basketball team is gearing up to make a big push to vault into the upper reaches of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) standings. Right in the middle of a tight conference race, the Wildcats will have to take care of business on the road this week, as head coach Brian Fogel's squad travels to Hayward to take on Cal State East Bay Thursday at 5:30 p.m. before moving to Seaside for a 1 p.m. tilt Saturday against Cal State Monterey Bay.
Fans can follow the action of both games locally on Newstalk 93.9 KPAY FM, with the broadcasts simulcast on the Internet through the Wildcat Athletics website. Mike Baca will be courtside at Pioneer Gymnasium to provide Thursday's play-by-play, with Mike Wessels on the call Saturday at The Kelp Bed. Live Stats and live streaming video will also be available online.
Thanks to last Saturday's 69-57 win over Cal State LA, Chico State is 11-7 on the season. The Wildcats are in seventh place in the CCAA with a 7-5 conference record, but begin the week just one game out of third place. The top eight teams at the end of the regular season will earn berths in next month's CCAA Championship Tournament, with the top four teams hosting first round matchups.
The 'Cats have played very well on the road this season, winning six of their nine contests away from Acker Gym.
Chico State is averaging 62.2 points per game on offense, while allowing just 61.4 points a contest on the defensive end—fifth best among the 13 CCAA teams.
Individually, Maddy Wong ranks ninth in the CCAA in scoring (12.4 points a game) and is second among all conference players in 3-pointers (62). The senior begins this week's action needing just eight treys to pass Whitney Branham as the program's all-time leading 3-point shooter.
The Wildcats will be looking to avenge their 63-62 overtime loss to Cal State East Bay back on November 23 at Acker Gym.
The Pioneers are 13-7 overall and in a tie with both Sonoma State and Stanislaus State for third place in the CCAA with a 9-5 conference record. East Bay has stumbled a bit in January, dropping their last three contests, including losses last week to Humboldt State and Stanislaus State.
Offensively, the Pioneers are averaging 69 points a game, while giving up 61.1 points on defense.
East Bay features a balanced offense, with no player averaging over 10 points a game. The Pioneers are led by junior guard Madison Schiller and senior guard Regina Stankey, averaging 9.3 and 9.0 points per game, respectively. Junior forward Morgan Greene is averaging 8.7 points a game and is one of the CCAA's leading rebounders (8.5 per game). Senior guards Kayley Hsiung and Kincso Kelemen have combined for 70 3-pointers on the season.
East Bay is 6-2 this season on its home floor, Pioneer Gymnasium.
Despite falling in the first meeting with the Pioneers this season, Chico State has won three of the last four matchups and leads the all-time series 56-22.
Cal State Monterey Bay faces Chico State Saturday afternoon in the Otters' lone game of the week. Monterey Bay is 4-12 on the season and in 11th place in the CCAA with a 4-10 conference record. Chico State won the first meeting of the 2019–20 campaign, topping the Otters 69-58 December 12 at Acker Gym.
After stunning conference leader UC San Diego 59-58 back on January 2, Monterey Bay has lost five of its last six games, including losses last week to Humboldt State and Stanislaus State.
The Otters have had their challenges in the scoring department, averaging only 58.4 points a game on offense. Defensively, Monterey Bay surrenders 67.6 points a contest.
Junior forward Sylvia Vartazarian is the Otters' leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 13.4 points (ranking sixth in the CCAA) and 6.4 boards a game. Freshman guard Katie Fitzgerald contributes 11.7 points a night and is Monterey Bay's top 3-point shooter with 23 treys on the season.
The Otters have dropped five of eight decisions this season at The Kelp Bed.
Chico State has won 10 straight meetings with Monterey Bay and lead the all-time series 24-6.
