CHICO – Jordan Allred scored 24 points, just four short from her career-high, as the Chico State women's basketball team beat Cal State East Bay 77-54 in Acker Gym Thursday evening.
The 'Cats (14-6, 10-4 CCAA) not only pick up their third straight win but they continue to keep pace in the conference standings. Though Cal State San Marcos picked up a win to keep ahead of the 'Cats by two games, the Cougars did Chico State a favor by beating Cal Poly Pomona to break the tie for second place.
It was also an impressive day for Morgan Mathis, who continues to be a key player off the bench by scoring all 18 of her points from 3-point range. Makenzi Laporte contributed to 10 points.
The Wildcats collectively shot 42.3 percent (30-for-71) from the field.
Though Zhane Duckett had a quiet day in the scoring department, tallying six points, she made her presence known in rebounding, having gone to the glass 11 times, only one away from a career best.
East Bay (9-12, 7-7 CCAA) was led by Payton Sterk, who had 16 points and nine rebounds. Jaela Richardson also had an 11-point, seven-rebound evening.
The Pioneers had a cold day shooting, hitting only 27.4 percent (17-for-62) of its shots.
Both teams got off to a slow start in the opening quarter. East Bay held a 4-0 lead for well over a minute until Allred got her first point with 6:06 left in the period. Chico ended up taking the lead on two free throws from Laporte and a steal followed by layup from Allred.
As has been most of the season, the Wildcats got a big quarter in the second, outscoring the Pioneers 21-7 to take a 34-16 lead into halftime. Allred had a dozen points going into the locker room, by far the most on any side of the bench.
Chico was able to maintain the led despite East Bay putting up a battle in the second half.
The Wildcats close out the long four-game home stand Saturday against former Wildcat standout Natasha Smith and San Francisco State at 1 p.m. The Gators come to Chico after suffering a 69-65 defeat at Cal Poly Humboldt tonight narrowly missing a four-quarter comeback attempt. The Wildcats were victorious, 91-72, in the last meeting in The City last month.
