LACEY, Wash. – With 2.1 seconds left and the final possession, Chico State head women's basketball coach Brian Fogel drew up the final play that could win the game. The play was on the verge of working but Brandy Huffhine's attempt on the game-winning layup hit the iron and out as Saint Martin's snuck by the Wildcats 73-72 at Marcus Pavilion Saturday evening.
After Saint Martin's Anjel Galbraith made the go-ahead free throw but missed the second, Jordan Allred got the critical rebound. From her team's bench, Zhane Duckett inbounded the ball to Huffhines in the right corner. Huffhines rolled around a Saint defender and drove to the basket for the layup. She did everything right but the ball bounced off the back iron and out at the buzzer.
Huffhines did have a productive night on the floor, though, scoring 14 points and making four assists. Allred led the team in scoring with 19 points including a perfect 4-for-4 on the free throw line. Zhane Duckett had 16 points and made six of the Wildcats' 14 assists.
Galbraith and Lauryn Morris appeared to be unstoppable as both of them scored 20 points on the day.
Both sides were near equal in the shooting column. Saint Martin's hit 44.1 percent from the field while Chico State was 43.8 percent.
After Chico State took a 22-17 lead into the second quarter, Saint Martin's got a 3-pointer and a free throw to get to within one. The Wildcats would go on a 9-0 run to build a 31-21 lead, the largest gap in the game. Chico State would outscore Saint Martin's 12-8 the rest of the first half to take a 39-33 into intermission.
Chico State did get that 10-point lead back when Duckett connected a layup to make it 51-41 midway through the third quarter. Saint Martin's slowly crawled back and got to within three at the end of the period.
The Saints would eventually take the lead with 2:12 left when Galbraith made a free throw to break the 66-66 tie. The Saints led by as many as four but the Wildcats when a pair of buckets by Duckett and a free throw by Allred gave them a one-point lead.
Saint Martin's capitalized on the free throws to take the lead and the win.
After playing the first two weekends on the road, Chico State will enjoy Thanksgiving and will open the home schedule against Academy of Art on Saturday. Tipoff is at 1 p.m.
