POMONA—You had to figure—another night, another nail-biter for the Chico State women's basketball team. For the fourth straight game, the Wildcats' fate was decided in the final minute of play, but unlike the previous three, the 'Cats were able to prevail Saturday in Southern California, and in the process deliver to Brian Fogel the 200th win of his Chico State coaching career. The Wildcats shook off a poor-shooting second half and came up big in the clutch to nip Cal Poly Pomona 67-63 at Kellogg Arena.
Saturday's win evened Chico State's season record at 4-4, as the Wildcats improved to 1-2 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). Cal Poly Pomona slipped to 2-5 overall and 1-2 in CCAA play.
The victory also made Fogel just the second Chico State women's basketball head coach to reach the 200 career win mark. He trails only the legendary Fran Coslet (286 victories) as the winningest coach in the program's history.
Morgan Mathis had the hot hand beyond the arc for the 'Cats Saturday, hitting five 3-pointers to finish the game with a career-high 15 points. Jordan Morris added 10 points to go along with five rebounds, while Charity Gallegos, Myli Martinez, and Jazmyne Lillie contributed seven points apiece. Gallegos also posted six assists, four rebounds, and three steals, with Lillie pulling down four rebounds in the Wildcats' win.
Chico State's offensive got off to a slow start in the first quarter, as Cal Poly Pomona grabbed an early 7-4 lead. The Wildcats finally got hot, using two 3-pointers by Bailey Jones, a Mathis trey, and a Haley Ison layup to conclude the period on an 11-2 run and give Chico State a 15-9 advantage heading into the second quarter.
The 'Cats continued to hoist up 3-pointers, and treys by Mathis and Martinez opened up Chico State's lead to 23-15 early in the second period. Following a pair of Pomona free throws, the Wildcats ripped off another 11-2 run—Mathis buried two more 3-pointers, Stella Rollo converted a three-point play, and Makenzi Laporte drained a jumper—to put Chico State up 34-19. The Broncos whittled the deficit to nine, but Lillie hit a jumper as the quarter ended, giving the 'Cats a 39-28 halftime lead.
It was Pomona that was connecting from downtown in the third quarter, with four 3-point buckets cutting the Wildcats' lead to three at 45-42. Chico State pushed its advantage back to eight on the strength of a layup and free throw by Rollo, and a Lillie 3-pointer, but the Broncos scored the last four points of the period to slice the 'Cats lead in half, 51-47, heading into the final 10-minute stanza.
Morris opened the fourth quarter with a layup, but Pomona responded with seven straight points to jump in front 54-53 with 5:33 remaining. The lead was short-lived, however—the Wildcats immediately answered, as Gallegos dropped in a layup and Mathis hit her fifth 3-pointer of the night to put Chico State back in front 58-54. The Broncos pulled to within a deuce three different times, but in the period's final minute, a layup by Morris and a Gallegos free throw made the score 65-60 with 30 second left to play.
A Pomona 3-pointer again cut the 'Cats' lead to two, and with Chico State promptly turning the ball over, the Broncos had a chance to tie or take the lead. Pomona's Jayda Villareal was fouled with five seconds remaining, but missed both of her free throw attempts. Martinez grabbed the rebound on the second miss, was fouled by the Broncos, and calmly went to the other end of the court, and, with two seconds left, hit two charity tosses to cement Chico State's hard-fought 67-63 victory.
Chico State returns home next Saturday for its first game in Acker Gym since November 13, when the Wildcats take on the Seawolves of Sonoma State. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.
