POMONA—A first quarter plagued with turnovers and personal fouls Thursday presented all the earmarks of a long night for the Chico State women's basketball team. The Wildcats stumbled to halftime down by a dozen, but caught fire in both the third and fourth quarters, overcoming three double-digit deficits to outscore the host Broncos 55-41 over the final 19 minutes of play. The 'Cats held firm during a wild comeback effort by Pomona in the final minute to escape with a huge 80-78 victory at Kellogg Arena.
 
Chico State's exciting road victory moved the Wildcats to 13-10 on the season and into sixth place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with a 9-8 conference record. Cal Poly Pomona slipped to 15-9 over with Thursday's loss, dropping the Broncos into fifth place in the CCAA with an 11-8 conference mark.
 
Maddy Wong led the Wildcats' offensive with 19 points on the night, hitting two 3-pointers while dishing out four assists. Myli Martinez buried four treys to finish with 12 points, with Brynn Thoming also scoring a dozen. Daisha Abdelkader contributed nine points for the 'Cats, with Mikaila Wegenke chipping in with eight points. Haley Ison topped the Wildcats with six rebounds and Shay Stark doled out a team-high five assists as Chico State completed the regular season series sweep of the Broncos.
 
Thanks to the numerous Wildcat fouls and turnovers, the Broncos jumped out to a 10-4 lead in the opening quarter, and after Martinez nailed a three to bring Chico State to within three, Pomona went up by 10 thanks to seven unanswered free throws. A Wong 3-pointer and a pair of Wegenke layups helped the 'Cats cut the deficit to five, but six straight points by the Broncos put Pomona up 25-14. A Wegenke layup ended the period, with the Wildcats trailing 25-16.
 
Chico State's defense helped the 'Cats climb back into contention, holding Pomona without a field goal for the first five minutes of the second quarter. Free throws by Wong and Vanessa Holland, and baskets by Hannah Washington and Bailey Jones made it a four-point game at 26-22. Unfortunately, the Wildcats' offense suddenly went cold, with an Abdelkader 3-pointer the lone Chico State field goal for the final 6:15 of the period. The Broncos finished the quarter on an 11-3 run to take a 37-25 lead into intermission.
 
The third quarter was a virtual rollercoaster, with the Wildcats coming back from double-digit deficits to close to within 3-5 points on five different occasions, only to see Pomona answer each time. With the score 39-25, the 'Cats went on a 12-2 run—highlighted by 3-pointers by Martinez and Wong—to make it a 41-37 game. The Broncos responded by reeling off six straight points to push their advantage to 10. Chico State chipped away again, cutting the Broncos' lead back to four, but a 7-0 Pomona run made the score 56-45. The Wildcats mounted another rally, with Abdelkader dropping in a pair of layups, Wegenke delivering a bucket, and Wong and Thoming threading five free throws between them, to pull to within 59-56, and by the time the period ended, the Broncos were clinging to a 62-58 lead.
 
The 'Cats came roaring out of the gate in the fourth quarter, scoring seven straight points—a Martinez 3-pointer was bookended by layups from Washington and Jones—to put Chico State on top 65-62. Pomona scored the next four points to briefly retake the lead, but this time the Wildcats answered, and in a big way: baskets by Thoming and Ison and a 3-pointer by Jones powered an 11-2 run to move the 'Cats back in front 76-68.
 
A 6-0 Pomona run cut Chico State's lead to two with 3:22 left to play. Washington hit a jumper to nudge the Wildcats' lead back to four, and a Thoming free throw with 41 seconds remaining made the score 79-74. The Broncos converted a layup with 12 ticks left on the clock, and immediately fouled Abdelkader on the inbounds play. Abdelkader hit one of her two charity tosses to make it a two possession game, and though Pomona hit a layup at the buzzer, it wasn't enough to keep Chico State from posting the 80-78 victory.
 
Chico State wraps up its Southern California road trip Saturday against the Coyotes of San Bernardino (3-17 overall, 3-14 CCAA). Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Mike Baca will provide the play-by-play locally on Newstalk 93.9 KPAY FM and on the Internet through the Wildcat Athletics website. Live Stats and live streaming video will also be available online.