ARCATA – Jordan Allred scored 14 points, Jadence Clifton and Brandy Huffhines each had 12, Zhane Duckett and Morgan Mathis both had 11 as the Chico State women's basketball team avoided a first half scare and ran away in the middle of the second half to beat Cal Poly Humboldt 77-59 in the regular-season finale Thursday night.
 
The Wildcats finish the regular season 20-8 overall, reaching the 20-win milestone for the first time since the 2012-13 season. It is also the third time head coach Brian Fogel has a team with 20 wins in his 16 seasons at the helm. As far as the CCAA record goes, the 'Cats had second place secured for a week and will finish conference place with a 16-6 record.
 
With the regular season in the rearview mirror, the Wildcats will now seek the automatic berth to NCAA Regionals, given to the winner of the upcoming CCAA Tournament, held at Cal State San Bernardino's Coussoulis Arena. As the No. 2 seed, the Wildcats receive a crucial first-round bye and will await the winner of Thursday's quarterfinal matchup between No. 3 Cal Poly Pomona and No. 6 Sonoma State. The Wildcats will play the semifinal on March 8 at noon. The game can be seen on the CCAA Network or listened on KPAY Sports 1290 AM and 102.9 FM radio with Mike Baca on the call.
 
It was a productive day for Allred. In addition to her 14 points, she also grabbed seven rebounds and four assists while her presence on the floor had been felt as she had a 27 point plus/minus, by far the most of any player in the game.
 
Clifton, making her return to the Humboldt campus where she played one season, also had a seven-rebound night along with three steals.
 
The Wildcats overcame a 27.8 field-goal percentage in the first half and ended up hitting 50 percent in the second half. Throughout the night they went 28-for-67 for a 41.8 percentile. Chico State also had a good on the free throw line, going a perfect 13-for-13. Both Allred and Duckett went 5-for-5 on the line.
 
Cal Poly Humboldt (12-14, 10-12 CCAA) was led by Emilia Long, who dropped in 15 points. She made 22 points and went to the glass eight times.
 
While the Lumberjacks hit 33.3 percent (20-for-60) of their shots, the 18 turnovers proved to be costly as the Wildcats scored 25 points off those miscues.
 
The Lumberjacks gave the Wildcats a battle in the first half, even having led by as many as 10 near the end of the opening quarter. Although the Wildcats won the second quarter, the Lumberjacks got a pair of free throws near the buzzer to take a 38-35 lead at halftime.
 
Down by three, Makenzi Laporte made a layup to get to within one and it ignited a 16-0 run in the span of 5:26 to give the Wildcats a 60-47 lead early into the fourth period.