CHICO STATE WOMEN RALLY FROM 20 DOWN
TO WIN THEIR 7TH STRAIGHT
By MIKE BACA
It didn't look good for the Chico State women's basketball team after one quarter of basketball on Saturday. Humboldt couldn't miss. They went 12-of-18 from the field and 7-of-10 from three point range to jump out to a 36-16 lead.
Then the game completely flipped...........
Humboldt would go nearly eight-and-a-half minutes and wouldn't score a point going 0-for-13 from the field. In the meantime the Wildcats would grind their way back into the game, cutting the deficit to seven by halftime. Mid-way through the 3rd quarter the Cats had surged to the lead and would beat Humboldt going away 79-66. Brandy Huffhines led the Cats with 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting and going 5-for-6 from three-point range. Zhane Duckett had a tremendous overall floor game scoring 7 points dishing off 5 assists and pulling a team-high 12 rebounds.
After surrendering 36 points in their first ten minutes of the game the Wildcats would give up only 30 points over the final 30 minutes of the contest. The win was the Wildcats seventh in a row and they remain in a tie for third in the CCAA with Cal State Los Angeles.
The Chico State men saw a 13-point second half lead slip away as they fell to the Humboldt State Lumberjacks 71-67. The loss drops the Cats to 5th in the CCAA.
Both the Chico State men and women travel to San Marcos and Cal State Los Angeles next weekend for a pivotal two-game road trip.
CHICO'S BATS WAKE UP
RALLY FOR FIRST WIN OF 2023 SEASON
The first twelve innings of baseball for the Chico State Wildcats in this 2023 were forgettable. Chico was beaten soundly on Friday by Arkansas Tech 5-0. The Wildcats set a school record by striking out 17 times while their pitchers walked seven batters. But, the Wildcats would respond on Saturday in their second match-up against Flagler University (Flagler) as part of the Houstin Winter Invitational at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.
With Chico trailing 4-0 in the 4th inning the Wildcats would respond with a four-spot of their own. Senior returner Jacob Jablonski would hit a solo home run into the Crawford Boxes at Minute Maid getting Chico on the board. three straight singles would follow with Jarret Lindsay driving in a pair with a two run single. Chico tied it in the 4th on an RBI ground out by Ernie Arambula.
Chico would grab the lead on a wild pitch in the fifth and add to the lead with a safety squeeze bunt for a run by Lindsay in the 7th. Aside from four Flagler runs in the 1st inning, the Wildcats pitchers would shut the Saints down. Left-handed reliever Cody Gentry would pitch two and two-thirds innings of shut-out relief to pick up the win. Newcomer Marco Ibarra was superb in relief pitching three-and-a-third innings of shut-out relief to pick up the save.
The Wildcats close out their three-day stay in Houston with a match-up against the defending Division-II National Champions North Greenville from South Carolina. Greenville beat host Central Missouri 12-1 on Friday and on Saturday night rallied from a late deficit to beat Arkansas Tech 11-9.
First pitch from Texas comes your way at 8:00am with our pregame on KpaySports 1290am and 102.9 FM at 7:50am. Don't forget to listen to Chico State baseball on the KpaySports app that you can download for free in the App Store.
