SAN BERNARDINO – Playing in their first CCAA Tournament final in 14 years, the Chico State women's basketball team took a hard-fought battle with the reigning regular-season champions Cal State San Marcos to the final seconds as a layup with two seconds left allowed the top-seeded Cougars to sneak by the second-seeded Wildcats 61-59 at Coussoulis Arena Saturday night.
 
Although Chico State (21-9, 16-6 CCAA) missed out on clinching the CCAA's automatic berth to the NCAA West Regionals beginning next week, the Wildcats seem to be in excellent standing to qualify as an at-large selection. They entered the week as the No. 6 team in the West Region, and by beating No. 5 Cal Poly Pomona in the conference tournament semifinal and going 2-1 in their season meetings against the regular-season and tournament champion No. 3 Cougars, the Wildcats have made a case to the NCAA Championship Committee to give them a spot.
 
The NCAA Selection Show will be held at 7:30 p.m. PDT on NCAA.com.
 
Saturday's championship game was close from the start all the way down to the final buzzer. Neither side was able to run away with the game. San Marcos (23-6, 18-4 CCAA) led by as many as nine near halftime and went into the locker room with a 37-30 lead.
 
The Wildcats were able to erase the deficit just past the halfway mark of the third quarter.
 
It was the fourth quarter that got really interesting as each team's key player picked up their fourth fouls. CCAA Defensive Player of the Year Zhane Duckett got her fourth early in the period and CCAA Player of the Year Jordan Vazquez got hers shortly two minutes later. The score would stay tight until back-to-back free throws from Jadence Clifton and Makenzi Laporte tied the game at 55 all with 4:18 left. San Marcos reclaimed the lead by as many as four. Laporte got another free throw to make it a three-point game and with Duckett back in, she got a pair of free throws to tie the game at 59 with 1:30 left.
 
San Marcos had the ball with nearly five seconds left and took the lead when Ava Ranson made a drive-in go-ahead layup. With two seconds left, the Wildcats were set to inbound the ball from midcourt but was intercepted by the Cougars to complete the 61-59 result.
 
Duckett finished with 22 points, four rebounds and two assists in 30 minutes of work. Brandy Huffhines and Jordan Allred, who led the effort in Friday's win over the Broncos, matched identical numbers again as the duo had 14 points. Laporte rolled sevens as that was the number of points and rebounds she recorded. Ashleigh Barr came up clutch off the bench for the Wildcats, grabbing 13 rebounds and making three blocks that helped keep the score tight.
 
The Wildcats had a better night in the shooting column than the Cougars. Chico State shot 37.9 percent from the field while San Marcos hit 31.6 percent.
 
Statistically, free throws proved to be the difference in the game. The Cougars made all 19 opportunities while the 'Cats went 14-for-21.
 
CCAA Tournament Most Valuable Player Vazquez finished with 21 points and 17 rebounds for the Cougars.