CHICO, Calif. - Despite starting strong in Friday's conference road game at Chico State, the Cal Poly Pomona women's basketball team couldn't keep up the pace and ended up falling 68-57 to the Wildcats.
Chico capitalized on extra free-throw opportunities as the Wildcats went 29-for-40 at the line while the Broncos posted a 10-for-17 effort. CPP couldn't fully capitalize on Chico's mistakes, scoring just 13 points off of the Wildcats' 23 turnovers.
J.J. Judge and
Rachel Hatch led the visitors in scoring with point totals of 12 and 11 respectively. Hatch has now reached double figures in three of the season's first four games.
Three Wildcats finished in double figures Friday as Jazmine Miller led the way with a career-high 20 points, including a 7-for-8 performance at the free throw line.
CPP falls to 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) while Chico improves to 3-0 overall and 2-0 in league play. Friday's result evens the all-time series between the two teams at 20-20.
The Broncos' strong start began with a Hatch layup off an
Ashley Boggs assist on the opening possession. Hatch also drew a foul on the play and knocked down the resulting free throw.
Around the midway point in the opening half, Judge tossed in a three-pointer to push CPP's edge to 14-7. The early momentum for the visitors faded in the later portion of the period though as the Wildcats closed out the half on a 19-5 run.
Chico State's Annie Ward scored five points in the final 24 seconds of the period, pushing the Wildcats' advantage to 31-22 heading into halftime.
A layup from Miller raised the host's lead into double digits early in the second half but the Broncos didn't back down from the opposition's challenge.
Jennifer Bryant and Hatch combined on a series of baskets, bringing the margin back to six points at the 16:45 mark.
Miller continued to find her rhythm on offense though and her combination of three-pointers and free throws helped bring Chico's edge back into double digits, where it stayed for the final three minutes and 21 seconds of action Friday.
Overall, it proved to be a defensive struggle at Art Acker Gymnasium. The Broncos ended up outshooting the Wildcats, 31.9 percent to 30.2. Chico finished with a 52-42 advantage in rebounding. Sophomore
Lauren Goecke led CPP's defensive effort with a career-high five steals.
The Broncos will now turn their attention to a Saturday 5:30 p.m. matchup at Cal State Stanislaus. The Warriors lost to Humboldt State Friday, 72-56.
