CHICO – Makenzi Laporte scored 18 points including a critical seven in the fourth period that helped Chico State win its seventh straight game by holding off a reeling Cal State Monterey Bay 70-61 at Acker Gym Saturday afternoon.
 
It was a sluggish day for the Wildcats (11-4, 7-2 CCAA) as they had to climb out of a 17-11 deficit following the completion of the first quarter. They got it by outscoring the Otters 27-8 to take a 38-25 lead into halftime. Monterey Bay (3-11, 1-8 CCAA) had a 36-32 edge on Chico State in the second half.
 
The Wildcats had 17-point lead midway through the third quarter but saw it shrink to 61-59 with 5:53 left in the game.
 
In comes Laporte, who scored those seven points in a 9-2 run that helped Chico State stay in front to the finish line.
 
Zhane Duckett, needing only 20 points to reach the 1,000-career milestone, finished with 19 points. She did dish out seven assists and five rebounds. Off the bench, Jordan Allred had 10 points while Ashleigh Barr had eight points and a team-most seven rebounds.
 
Monterey Bay did not look like a 1-8 team. They shot 34.8 percent from the field and outrebounded Chico State 33-31 while keeping the turnover count to nine comparing to the Wildcats' 15 miscues.
 
The Wildcats will hop on a plan to Southern California next week, making the first stop to Cal State LA Thursday at 5:30 p.m. The Golden Eagles, predicted the favorite to win the CCAA, are coming off an 84-58 win over San Francisco State to snap a six-game losing skid. Los Angeles is now 3-6 in conference play.