Four home games. Four consecutive double digit victories. The Chico State women's basketball team has taken full advantage of its early February residency in the friendly confines of Acker Gym, moving up in the conference standings and positioning themselves for what should be an exciting finish to the 2021–22 regular season. Saturday, the Wildcats made San Francisco State their latest victim, outscoring the Gators 20-8 in the third quarter to break the game open and ultimately roll to a 69-52 victory.
The win is Chico State's fifth in a row and seventh in its last eight games, moving the Wildcats to 12-7 on the season. The Wildcats also hold on to sole possession of third place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with a 9-5 conference record. With four regular season games remaining, the 'Cats are in control of their own destiny for one of the six CCAA Tournament berths in the tightly-packed conference standings.
San Francisco State dropped to 8-13 overall and 6-11 in CCAA play.
Charity Gallegos scored 11 of her game-high 20 points in the third period to lead the Wildcats' attack, while also racking up eight rebounds and five assists. Bailey Jones poured in 11 points on the night; Makenzi Laporte contributed 10 points, and Morgan Mathis and Myli Martinez combined to hit five 3-pointers to finish with nine and eight points, respectively. Haley Ison led all players with 13 rebounds.
Chico State raced out to a 13-5 first quarter lead on the strength of two 3-pointers by Jones and one from Martinez, but a 15-2 San Francisco State run put the Gators in front by five. Gallegos helped the Wildcats whittle down the deficit by connecting on a trey with just two seconds left in the period, and San Francisco State had to be content to end the quarter with a 20-18 lead.
The 'Cats' defense came up huge in the second period, forcing the Gators to miss 14 of 18 field goal attempts. The third 3-pointer of the night by Jones put Chico State in front 23-22, but San Francisco State managed to regain the lead at 28-27. It didn't last long—Ison connected on a jumper and Makenzi Laporte dropped in a layup in the final two minutes, giving the Wildcats a 31-28 halftime advantage.
Chico State took control of the contest in the third quarter, and it was Gallegos that provided the hot hand. The freshman guard made five straight shots—one of them a 3-pointer—and combined with two buckets by Laporte and a Martinez trey, the Wildcats extended their lead to 51-33. Meanwhile, the 'Cats' defense once again worked its magic, as San Francisco State misfired on 15 of 18 shots in the period. It took a 3-pointer just before the end of the quarter to bring the Gators to within 15 at 51-36.
San Francisco State crept to within 10 at 51-41 early in the final period, but Chico State effectively put the game away with an 18-6 run, highlighted by three 3-pointers by Mathis, a trey from India Starr, and two more buckets by Gallegos. The 'Cats led by as many as 22 points down the stretch, which allowed Chico State to coast to the 69-52 win and complete a series sweep over the Gators this season.
Chico State travels to Southern California next week for its final regular season road trip. Both games are huge conference contests—Thursday at 5:30 p.m. the Wildcats take on the Golden Eagles of Cal State LA (9-10, 8-6 CCAA), followed by a Saturday afternoon showdown (1 p.m. tipoff) with CCAA leader Cal State San Marcos (17-2, 15-1 CCAA).
