Wildcats and Falcons tangle Monday with NCAA West Regional championship on the line

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Wildcats and Falcons tangle Monday with NCAA West Regional championship on the line

The team poses for photo at the Space Needle

The Wildcats take in the sights of Seattle prior to Monday's NCAA West Regional championship game against Seattle Pacific.

3/14/2010 10:49:48 PM

SEATTLE, Wash. – Sunday was a day for the Chico State women’s basketball team to do some sightseeing, visit the Space Needle, dine family style at Buca di Beppo, savor a hard-earned victory, and prepare for the team’s next big challenge – to bring home the NCAA Championship Tournament West Regional title and advance to the Elite Eight for the second time in the program’s history. On the heels of Saturday’s 86-76 victory over Humboldt State, the ’Cats enjoyed a relaxing day off before turning their attention to Monday’s West Regional championship game showdown with No. 1 seed Seattle Pacific. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. at Royal Brougham Pavilion. CLICK HERE TO VISIT TOURNAMENT CENTRAL.

The 23-9 Wildcats, the sixth seed in the West Regional, reached the title game with wins over Western Washington Friday and Humboldt on Saturday – and in both cases there was a bit of a revenge factor spurring Chico State on to victory. The ’Cats lost to Western Washington by 21 early in the season and dropped an 85-55 decision to the Lumberjacks in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) championship title game, and both losses have been avenged in the West Regional. Now Chico State trys to settle a third score Monday, taking on a 26-3 Seattle Pacific team that is ranked No. 13 in the nation and which dealt the Wildcats a 63-44 loss back on December 21 during the CCAA/GNAC Challenge.

Seattle Pacific, which has the advantage of playing the West Regional title game on its home floor, advanced with a 65-52 win over No. 8 seed Hawaii Pacific Friday and a 52-48 triumph Saturday over No. 4 Alaska Anchorage.

Chico State has put up some impressive offensive numbers in the NCAA West Regional, averaging 82.5 points in its two contests, hitting a season-high 10 3-pointers in Saturday’s victory over Humboldt. Natasha Smith is averaging 15 points and 7.5 assists a game; Synchro Bull and Melissa Richardson are both averaging 14.5 points a night, with Christine Vest chipping in with an average of 13 points a game.

Seattle Pacific is led by senior guard Daesha Henderson, averaging 14.5 points in the Falcons’ two West Regional contests, and junior center Melissa Reich, scoring at a 13.5 points per game clip.

Seattle Pacific holds a 10-4 edge in the all-time series with Chico State and has won each of the last three meetings. Monday will mark the fifth time the Wildcats and Falcons have faced off in the NCAA West Regional – Chico State beat Seattle Pacific 75-60 in the 2007 semifinals, and in 2006 the ’Cats advanced to the Elite Eight by topping the Falcons 72-63 in the West Regional championship game. Seattle Pacific earned an Elite Eight berth in 2005 by beating Chico State 85-70 in the West Regional title game, and ushered the Wildcats to a first round exit in 2003 with an 81-70 win.

Monday’s NCAA West Regional championship game will be broadcast live with Mike Baca providing the play-by-play on ESPN 101.7 and 1340 AM locally, as well as on the Internet via the Wildcat Athletics website. Seattle Pacific will provide live video and Live Stats of the West Region championship game through its official Women’s West Regional page.

Jan

February 2012

Mar

Sat, Feb. 04, 2012

Women's Basketball
vs San Francisco State
5:30 p.m.

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Wildcats of the Week

Amir Carraway

Men's Basketball

Amir Carraway capped a strong weekend with team highs of 16 points and seven rebounds in the Wildcats’ huge win against Humboldt State Saturday night to earn Wildcat of the Week honors for the second time this season.

The sophomore from Vallejo made two game-sealing free throws with 21 seconds left to finish the night 6-of-7 from the free throw line and pulled down key rebounds on two of the Lumberjacks’ last three possessions. He also set the screen on Jay Flores’ dagger 3-pointer with 40 seconds left.

Carraway finished with 10 points and four rebounds despite playing just 18 minutes due to foul trouble during the Wildcats’ loss to Sonoma State the night before.

The 6-foot-5 forward leads the team in rebounding at 5.5 per game and ranks second in scoring at 10.6 points per game a season after averaging just 1.4 points and one rebound in only 5.4 minutes a night. He’s now led the team in scoring five times and rebounding six this season.

Carraway and the Wildcats, among four teams tied for second in the California Collegiate Athletic Association standings, trail conference co-leaders Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State Dominguez Hills by just one game. They’ll welcome Cal Poly Pomona to town Friday night and San Francisco State Saturday.

Caressa Williams

Women's Basketball

For much of the season, redshirt freshman Caressa Williams has been sitting at the end of the Chico State women’s basketball team bench, seeing very little on-court action. But the former Paradise High School star continued to work hard on her game, and the extra effort has paid off in recent weeks with significantly more playing time. After a string of short but impressive relief roles, Williams delivered a breakout performance Saturday against Humboldt State, posting career highs in scoring and rebounding in the Wildcats’ 90-67 thumping of Humboldt State. Her strongest effort to date makes Williams the latest Wildcat of the Week.

Williams shot over 58 percent (7-of-12), averaging just under 10 points and five rebounds in Chico State’s two weekend contests. She began the weekend with a solid outing Friday against Sonoma State, contributing five points, two rebounds, one assist and two steals in 16 minutes of action. Saturday, though, she was a major part of the Wildcat reserves combining to score 51 in the team’s convincing 23-point win over Humboldt. Williams played 24 minutes, scoring 14 points and hauling in seven rebounds – both career highs – connecting on five of her seven field goal attempts. She also chipped in with an assist and a steal in addition to shining on the defensive end.

Williams’ productive weekend saw her season scoring average more than double, rising from 1.6 to 3.6 points per game. Overall, she is shooting 50 percent from the field and is averaging two rebounds a contest.

Chico State is back in action this weekend, hosting Cal Poly Pomona Friday and San Francisco State Saturday at Acker Gym. Both games are scheduled to tipoff at 5:30 p.m.

2.3.12 | Women's Basketball

Broncos streak past Wildcats, 83-74

CHICO – Cal Poly Pomona came into Chico Friday struggling to find the success that saw the Broncos win their first eight games of the season. Pomona had dropped three of its last five contests, and had averaged less than 58 points over its last six contests. Fighting to hang onto sole possession of fourth place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), the Broncos found the hot hand at Acker Gym, shooting 48 percent from the field and using several long scoring streaks to beat the host Wildcats, 83-74.

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2.2.12 | Women's Basketball

’Cats try to tame Broncos and ground Gators this weekend

CHICO – With two important southern California road trips on the horizon, the Chico State women’s basketball team would like nothing better than to continue its forward momentum and duplicate last Saturday’s sterling effort against Humboldt State. The Wildcats will get that opportunity in front of the home fans this weekend, hosting Cal Poly Pomona Friday and San Francisco State Saturday at Acker Gym. Tipoff for both games are scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

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2.2.12 | General

Comcast to broadcast CCAA Basketball Tournament final fours

WALNUT CREEK – The California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) and Comcast Hometown Network (CHN) announced today an agreement to televise the 2012 CCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament Semifinals and Finals. The CCAA Tournament opens with first round contests at campus sites on Tuesday, Feb. 28 before shifting to UC San Diego’s RIMAC Arena in La Jolla for the semifinals and finals on March 2 and 3, respectively.

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1.30.12 | Women's Basketball

Williams helps hammer Humboldt, wins Wildcat of the Week award

1.28.12 | Women's Basketball

Total team effort – every Wildcat scores in 90-67 win over Lumberjacks

CHICO – What a difference a night makes. After posting their worst offensive performance of the season Friday against Sonoma State, the Chico State women’s basketball team came alive Saturday versus Humboldt State, shooting nearly 50 percent from the field and riding 51 points by the Wildcat reserves to an impressive 90-67 win over a quality Lumberjack squad. Every Chico State player scored as the ’Cats beat the Lumberjacks at Acker Gym for the 15th straight time dating back to the 1994-95 season.

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1.27.12 | Women's Basketball

Wildcats can’t get in the zone, fall to Sonoma State 57-45

CHICO – For the Chico State women’s basketball team to climb the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) standings and the NCAA West Region rankings, the Wildcats will need to figure out how to thwart zone defenses. The ’Cats have struggled throughout January against teams that have thrown up the zone and held the Wildcats to minimal fast break opportunities. Friday was no different, as Sonoma State – the conference’s top defensive team – ran the zone to near perfection, holding the Wildcats to just 16 first half points on the way to a 57-45 victory at Acker Gym.

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1.26.12 | Women's Basketball

Wildcats open second half of conference season at home this weekend

CHICO – The Chico State women’s basketball team was looking for a little head of steam heading into the second half of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) schedule, and they got it last weekend with road wins over Cal State East Bay and No. 22 Cal State Monterey Bay. The Wildcats now attempt to keep that positive roll going as they get their second look at conference opponents. The ’Cats return home Friday to face Sonoma State, with Humboldt State visiting Acker Gym on Saturday. Both games are scheduled to tip off at 5:30 p.m.

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