For a few nervous moments Saturday, it was looking like the Chico State women's basketball team would once again be singing the fourth quarter blues. After coughing up a nine-point lead in the final period on the way to falling to Western Oregon Friday night, the Wildcats saw a 14-point fourth quarter advantage dwindle down to just three before righting the ship late in the game and coming away with a 59-52 victory over Saint Martin's on the final day of the CCAA/GNAC Challenge at Acker Gym.
The win, Chico State's first at home this season, evened the Wildcats' record at 2-2. Saint Martin's slipped to 2-2 overall.
Haley Ison and Brandy Huffhines led the scoring for the Wildcats with 12 points apiece, with Ison adding a team-high seven rebounds. Chico State connected on seven 3-pointers on the afternoon, with Ison, Bailey Jones, and Morgan Mathis each knocking down a pair of treys.
Both offenses were slow to get revved up, with the game tied at 2-2 midway through the first quarter. Saint Martin's scored the next two baskets, but Chico State answered with a layup by Makenzi Laporte, a Huffhines jumper, and a 3-pointer by Zhane Duckett to put the Wildcats in front 9-8. The Saints hit a field goal late in the period to take a 10-9 lead into the second quarter.
The Wildcats delivered one of their most productive periods over the next 10 minutes of action, shooting over 56 percent from the field and a blistering 71.4 percent from behind the 3-point arc. Jones bookended a Huffhines three-point play with a pair of 3-pointers, and less than three minutes into the second quarter the 'Cats were suddenly up 18-10. Following a Saint Martin's bucket, Chico State scored on three straight possessions—Ison knocked down a 3-pointer, Jordan Morris dropped in a layup, and Mathis hit from long distance—to push the Wildcats' advantage to 14 at 26-12. The 'Cats maintained their double-digit lead, going into halftime up 33-19.
Chico State led briefly by 17 in the third quarter before Saint Martin's started to chip away at the deficit, pulling to within 10 at 37-27. The Wildcats responded with a Morris jumper, two Myli Martinez free throws, and a fast break layup by Jones to push the lead back to 16. The Saints scored a couple of buckets during the final two minutes of the period, but Chico State was still sitting pretty at 45-31 heading into the fourth quarter.
Then it suddenly became nervous time. With the score 47-33, Saint Martin's scored 11 unanswered points to climb back into the contest and trail by only three with 5:05 remaining in the game. The Wildcats would make only one field goal the rest of the way, but they came up huge at the foul line, and it turned out to be the difference. With time running out, the Saints were forced to foul, and Chico State hit eight straight free throws in the final minute to insure they did not let the lead slip away for the second straight night. Despite two late 3-pointers by Saint Martin's, Ison and Duckett iced the contest by each making two free throws, and the Wildcats would run out the clock to post the 59-52 victory.
The Wildcats take a couple of days off before jumping back into action Tuesday, hosting Holy Names at Acker Gym in Chico State's final pre-conference tune-up. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
