CHICO – After spending 13 well-earned days away from competition to spend time with family during the Christmas holiday break, the Chico State women's basketball returned to Acker Gym on New Year's Eve Sunday and closed out year 2023 on a positive note, an 80-56 win over Cal Poly Humboldt.
 
The Wildcats, winner of three straight including two in CCAA play, improve to 7-4 overall and 3-2 in the conference. The Lumberjacks are on the opposite side of the streak, having lost three straight, all of which were conference foes, dropping to 4-5 overall and 2-3 in the CCAA.
 
Makenzi Laporte had quite a day on the floor for Chico State, scoring 18 points, including making 6-of-7 from the free throw line. She came up two points short from matching her career-high of 20 points she scored in the season-opener. Laporte also had five rebounds.
 
Despite the nearly two-week long break, Morgan Mathis had not cooled down. After scoring a season-high 16 points against Simpson before leaving campus for the holiday, the junior matched that number in quite an impressive way, she all five of her successful field goals from 3-point range.
 
Zhane Duckett was also all over the floor throughout the day, scoring 10 points, notching seven assists while making six rebounds and steals each. Despite reaching double figures in points for the 10^th consecutive game, Duckett was below her season average. She will go into the new year with 936 career collegiate points.
 
Chico State was dominant in the first half. While taking a 45-21 into halftime, the Wildcats was 19-of-39 (48.7 percent) from the field. Laporte had 11 points and four rebounds in the front half of the game. The Lumberjacks overcame a slow start from tipoff to tie the game at 10 halfway through the opening quarter. Much like she did against Simpson, Mathis would hit a 3-point basket and it began a huge run for the Wildcats. Chico State would go on a 32-5 momentum to take a 28-point lead with 3:03 left in the first half, the largest gap in the game.
 
A poor performance in the third quarter for Chico State allowed Cal Poly Humboldt to cut the deficit to 56-38. The Wildcats did answer back and outscored the Lumberjacks in the final period, 24-18, to keep the distance.
 
With 2024 on the horizon, the Wildcats will begin the new year in the Bay Area starting with San Francisco State Thursday at 5:30 p.m. The Gators were also victorious on New Year's Eve as well, beating cross-bay rival Cal State East Bay in The Swamp.