TURLOCK—With a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Tournament first round home game on the line, Saturday's regular-season finale between the Chico State and Stanislaus State women's basketball teams was expected to be a no-holds-barred battle. The contest at Fitzpatrick Arena proved to be all that and more, with both teams making big comebacks, forcing an extra period, and both teams hitting potential game-winning baskets within the last 10 seconds of overtime. Fortunately for the Wildcats, Hannah Washington's layup with two seconds remaining turned out to be the difference as Chico State edged the host Warriors 70-69.
Saturday's dramatic victory, Chico State's sixth straight, moved the Wildcats' season record to 18-10, and their fourth place finish in the CCAA standings (thanks to a 14-8 conference record) has earned the 'Cats a home game against No. 5 seed Cal State East Bay in Tuesday's opening round of the CCAA Tournament. Game time at Acker Gym is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
Stanislaus State finishes the regular season 14-13 overall and 12-10 in CCAA play, leaving the Warriors with the conference tournament's No. 6 seed and a first round road game against No. 3 Cal Poly Pomona.
Tickets for the Wildcats-Pioneer CCAA Tournament game will go on sale Monday at 10 a.m. at the University Box Office in Sierra Hall, located on the corner of 3rd and Chestnut streets. Box Office hours are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The first 300 students through the door on game night will be admitted free of charge.
Ticket orders can also be called in at (530) 898-6333.
While Washington scored the game-winner, there were several Wildcat heroes in Saturday's win over Stanislaus. Myli Martinez knocked down six 3-pointers to finish with a game-high 18 points, with Washington scoring 13 points and grabbing six rebounds. Haley Ison posted her second double-double of the season with 12 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, with Maddy Wong hitting a trio of treys to score 12 points while also dishing out five assists. Daisha Abdelkader finished with five points, seven rebounds, and five assists.
Saturday's contest was a defensive struggle from the get-go. Chico State could only convert three field goal attempts in the first quarter, and a 9-2 Stanislaus run gave the Warriors an early 14-7 lead. A pair of Mikaila Wegenke free throws trimmed the deficit to five, and Stanislaus finished the period up 14-9.
Despite baskets by Ison, Washington, and Abdelkader, the Warriors built their advantage to a dozen at 27-15 seven minutes into the second quarter. Chico State scored the final six points of the period—Wong dropped in a layup, and Washington hit four straight free throws—and the 'Cats went into halftime trailing Stanislaus 27-21.
The Warriors went back up by double digits in the third quarter, but the Wildcats slowly chipped away, and thanks to a 3-pointer by Wong, baskets by Ison, Wegenke, and Shay Stark, and a three-point play by Abdelkader, Chico State pulled to within one at 39-38. A field goal by Stanislaus to close out the period gave the Warriors a 41-38 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The final 10 minutes of regulation was one continuous roller-coaster ride. Neither team scored for the first three-and-a-half minutes of the quarter, but with Stanislaus up 43-38, the Chico State offense ripped off a 13-0 run—Martinez hitting a pair of 3-pointers, Wong sinking a trey, and Ison converting a pair of layups—to springboard the Wildcats to a 51-43 lead with 3:33 remaining. The Warriors came charging back, scoring nine unanswered points to retake the lead at 52-51 with 29 seconds left. Chico State answered in crunch time—Ison was fouled with 10 seconds to go in regulation, and hit one free throw to tie the game and send it into overtime.
With Martinez firing away from long distance and hitting three 3-pointers, Chico State led through almost the entire overtime period. It looked as if the Wildcats had wrapped up the contest when free throws by Washington and Ison upped Chico State's lead to 67-61 with 31 seconds remaining. Stanislaus had other ideas, needing just 24 seconds to outscore the 'Cats 8-1, and Taylor Pilot's 3-pointer put the Warriors on top 69-68 with seven seconds left.
The Wildcats' final possession snatched victory out of the jaws of defeat—with two seconds remaining, Abdelkader fed a wide-open Washington underneath the bucket for the layup that gave the Chico State the thrilling 70-69 victory and a triumphant return to Acker Gym to open postseason play.
CCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
March 3–7, 2020
Quarterfinals—Tuesday, March 3 (at campus sites)
No. 1 Cal State San Marcos vs. No. 8 Sonoma State, 5:30 p.m. at San Marcos
No. 2 UC San Diego vs. No. 7 Humboldt State, 5:30 p.m. at La Jolla
No. 3 Cal Poly Pomona vs. No. 6 Stanislaus State, 5:30 p.m. at Pomona
No. 4 Chico State vs. No. 5 Cal State East Bay, 5:30 p.m. at Chico
Semifinals—Friday, March 6 at RIMAC Arena, La Jolla
Winner of No. 2/No. 7 vs. Winner of No. 3/No. 6, 5:30 p.m.
Winner of No. 1/No. 8 vs. Winner of No. 4/No. 5, 8 p.m.
Final—Saturday, March 7 at 8 p.m. at RIMAC Arena
