Christmas comes about three weeks early for fans of the Chico State women’s basketball team this year. Bitter rival Humboldt State comes to town on Dec. 3 for what is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated games of the season following their four memorable games from last season. And the following weekend the Wildcats face fellow Western Region powers Western Washington and Seattle Pacific at the CCAA/GNAC Challenge, hosted by Sonoma State.

The Wildcats faced all three of those teams in last season’s NCAA Championship Tournament. It was their fourth meeting with Humboldt State and they won a thriller to avenge their worst loss of the season, which had come at the hands of the Lumberjacks exactly one week earlier in the CCAA Championship Tournament title game. The Wildcats won both regular-season games against Humboldt State, the first coming on Synchro Bull’s layup with nine seconds to play and the second coming in a game that featured 10 lead changes.

Chico State upset Western Washington – a team that beat them by 21 points early last season – to open their NCAA Championship Sweet 16 run. They lost to Seattle Pacific in the West Regional title game.

The Wildcats will open the 2010-11 season with exhibition games at Division I St. Mary’s and the University of Nevada and host the Carl’s Jr. Coslet Classic to open the regular season on Nov. 19-20. Their conference opener against Cal State Stanislaus follows on Nov. 23.

Other highlights on the schedule include rival Sonoma State’s visit on Dec. 4, defending CCAA Champion UC San Diego’s visit on Jan. 7, and showdowns with Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino to wrap up the regular-season home slate on Feb. 18 and 19, respectively.

The Wildcats complete the regular season with a trip through Cal State Monterey Bay and San Francisco State the following Thursday and Friday.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE COMPLETE 2010-11 SCHEDULE