CHICO – Back in mid-December, the Chico State women’s basketball team traveled to Bellingham, Wash., taking a 5-0 record into their CCAA/GNAC Challenge opener against Western Washington University. The host Vikings handed the Wildcats their first loss of the season, 80-59, and since then the ’Cats have been hoping for the opportunity to even the score. Friday at Seattle Pacific University’s Brougham Pavilion, Chico State gets the chance to do just that, as the Wildcats and Vikings meet again in the opening round of the NCAA Championship Tournament West Regional.
The game, scheduled for a 12:30 tipoff Friday afternoon, pits the 21-9 Wildcats against the 23-4 Vikings, ranked No. 18 nationally in the latest USA Today/ESPN Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll. Despite losing to Humboldt State last Saturday in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championship Tournament final, Chico State – making its seventh appearance in the NCAA Championship Tournament in the last eight years and 10th overall – enters the West Regional having won 13 of it last 15 contests. Western Washington is also playing its best basketball of the season, winning three straight and 14 of its last 16 heading into Friday’s showdown with the ’Cats.
The Wildcats, as they have all season, will look to run and push the ball in transition against Western Washington, while at the same time deliver a big defensive effort to neutralize the Vikings’ “Big Three” – guard Amanda Dunbar and forwards Jessica Summers and Willow Cabe. Chico State’s backcourt of Natasha Smith, Melissa Richardson and Synchro Bull have combined to average 31.5 points a game, while Courtney Harrison has come off the bench to hit 11 of her last 15 3-point attempts and average 12.3 points over her last four games – the Wildcats will need all of their offensive weapons to be hitting on all cylinders Friday, plus receive a strong game underneath the basket from Pauline Ferrall, Christine Vest, Kristin Marquardt, Annelise Miller and Taylor Lydon. On the season, Chico State has scored an average of 66.5 points a game, while holding opponents to just 57.6 points a contest.
Western Washington, which finished second to Seattle Pacific in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC), is making its 10th NCAA Championship Tournament appearance in the last 11 years. The Vikings boast the top offense in the GNAC, averaging 76.3 points a game, and are third in the conference in defense, allowing just 56.4 points a night. Western Washington averages over seven 3-point buckets a game, and as a team shoots 41.1 percent from behind the arc. Dunbar, a junior averaging 17.3 points a game, is the GNAC’s top scorer this season, and her 88 3-point baskets set a Vikings’ single-season school record. Summers averages 16.1 points and 8.9 rebounds a game, while Cabe (who torched Chico State for 24 points in their December 20 meeting) chips in with 14.1 and 5.9 rebounds a contest, while connecting on 33 3-pointers.
All-time, Western Washington has won nine of 14 meetings with Chico State; the Wildcats, though, have won five of the last eight matchups. The two teams met at Seattle Pacific five years ago in the 2005 West Regional, with Chico State coming away with an 85-75 semifinal victory.
Friday’s game will be broadcast live on ESPN 101.7 and 1340 AM locally, as well as on the Internet via the Wildcat Athletics website, with Mike Baca calling the play-by-play. Seattle Pacific University, the host school, will provide live video and Live Stats of the Chico State-Western Washington game (as well as all West Regional contests) through its official Women’s West Regional page.
CLICK HERE TO VISIT NCAA WEST REGION TOURNAMENT PAGE