The Chico State women's basketball team is right in the middle of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) playoff race, but knows it has to dig down deep and play its best ball of the season to assure a bid to next month's conference tournament. Six of the Wildcats' eight remaining opponents have plus-.500 records on the season, and this week the CCAA's top two teams will be coming to Acker Gym. The 'Cats take on conference leader UC San Diego on Thursday, with second place Cal State San Marcos coming to Chico on Saturday. Tipoff for both games is slated for 5:30 p.m.
Fans unable to attend in person can follow the action locally on Newstalk 93.9 KPAY FM. Mike Baca and Mike Wessel's 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 the week 12-8 on the season and occupying fifth place in the CCAA standings with an 8-6 conference record. The Wildcats, winners of two of their last three contests, will look to avenge a 64-47 road loss to UC San Diego in early December. Saturday's meeting with Cal State San Marcos is the first time this season the 'Cats and Cougars have squared off on the hardwood.
The Wildcats split their two road games last week, but played well enough to win both. Chico State dropped a 71-67 overtime decision to Cal State East Bay before bouncing back on the weekend to register a convincing 79-52 victory over Cal State Monterey Bay.
Chico State is 5-4 at Acker Gym this season.
The 'Cats are averaging 63.3 points per game on offense, but they'll have to work hard to earn their points this week. Cal State San Marcos boasts the second-stingiest defense among the 13 CCAA teams (holding opponents to just 57.3 points a game), while UC San Diego (60.3 points) is right behind in third. Chico State is ranked fifth in defense in the CCAA, surrendering 61.4 points a contest.
Maddy Wong, who last weekend became the No. 1 3-point shooter in Chico State women's basketball history, leads the CCAA with 70 treys on the season (ranking seventh in all of Division II), and is ninth in the conference in scoring, averaging 12.7 points a game. With eight regular season games remaining, Wong is 11 3-pointers away from setting a new Wildcats single-season record, and with 209 career treys, is within reach of the conference's all-time record of 219 3-pointers.
UC San Diego, the Wildcats' Thursday night opponent, is 17-4 overall and leads the CCAA with a 13-3 conference record. After being stunned at home by Cal State Monterey Bay on January 2, the Tritons have reeled off nine straight victories, including convincing wins last week against Humboldt State and Stanislaus State.
The Tritons have won nine of 11 decisions this season away from their home floor, RIMAC Arena.
UC San Diego scores an average of 70.6 points a game—second in the CCAA—and is the conference's leading 3-point shooting team, connecting for 181 shots from beyond the arc.
The Tritons are led by Julia Macabuhay, whose 18.4 points per game ranks second in the CCAA. The sophomore guard racked up 19 points in the December 5 win against the Wildcats.
Junior guard Tyla Turner contributes 11.4 points a game to the UC San Diego attack, while senior guard Sydney Shark is averaging 11 points and seven rebounds a game, while burying a team-high 50 3-pointers.
The Tritons have won the last nine meetings with Chico State, and lead the all-time series 31-13.
The Wildcats are the lone opponent this week for Cal State San Marcos, which comes to Chico sporting an overall record of 17-4 and 12-4 in CCAA play. The Cougars have won three straight and five of their last six, and last week posted double-digit victories over both Stanislaus State and Humboldt State.
San Marcos is 8-2 on the road entering Saturday's game with the Wildcats.
The Cougars aren't a big-time scoring team, averaging 66.6 points a game. San Marcos doesn't shoot 3-pointers that frequently, either, shooting just 304 times from behind the arc (compared with 567 long-distance attempts by UC San Diego and 442 by Chico State), and averages less than five treys a night.
Junior forward Emma Forel comes into Saturday's contest averaging 12.8 points and 9.5 rebounds a game. Senior forward Jon'Nae Vermillion chips in with 12.4 points and 8.3 boards a contest, while junior guard Akayla Hackson delivers 10.8 points an outing. Sophomore guard Kelsey Forrester is the Cougars' top 3-point shooter, with 39 treys on the season.
Saturday will mark the ninth time Chico State and Cal State San Marcos have met since 2015. The series is tied at four wins apiece.
