Box Score | CHICO, Calif. - A hard-fought matchup Saturday in Chico featured physical play from start to finish but in the end, the 15th-ranked Cal Poly Pomona women's basketball team suffered a 63-61 loss to Chico State in the regular season finale.
Having secured the conference's regular season title last weekend, the Broncos - ranked first regionally and 15th nationally - will take a 21-5 overall record into the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championships. With a first-round bye, top-seeded CPP will start its postseason Friday with a 5:30 p.m. semifinal game at Ontario's Citizens Business Bank Arena.
Ticket prices for the CCAA Championships range from $7 to $25 and can be purchased online at
www.AXS.com, over the phone at (888) 929-7849, or at the Citizens Business Bank Arena box office. Information on student tickets and transportation will be featured on BroncoAthletics.com Monday afternoon.
Saturday's result positioned Chico State as the No. 2 seed securing the other first-round bye. The Wildcats closed out the regular season with marks of 18-8 overall and 13-9 in conference play.
As far as the CCAA Championships schedule, the winner of fourth-seeded UC San Diego and fifth-seeded Cal State L.A. will play the Broncos Friday. Chico will challenge the winner of third-seeded Cal State Dominguez Hills and sixth-seeded Cal State East Bay.
CPP junior center
Jada Blackwell put together an inspired performance Saturday, scoring a season-high 30 points while collecting eight rebounds as well. The Rancho Cucamonga native finished as the league's scoring leader through the regular season with 17.7 points per game.
The Wildcats pushed out to a seven-point lead Saturday on a pair of occasions in the first half. With Blackwell leading the way, CPP managed to cut the margin down to 29-24 heading into the break. Through those first 20 minutes, the Broncos shot 47 percent but Chico held a 21-13 edge in rebounding.
Within the first minute of the second half, the Broncos got a three-point play from Blackwell on a layup and free throw.
The two teams played even down the stretch while the margin didn't move above four points in either direction between the 9:56 and 2:22 marks. A pair of free throws from Miller pushed the host squad's lead to six but a Blackwell layup brought it right back to four, 59-55.
Another basket by Blackwell with 30 seconds made it a one-possession game but Chico got the free throws it needed to wrap up the two-point victory.
Senior guard
J.J. Judge put together another strong rebounding performance, pulling down seven defensive boards Saturday. She averaged 7.5 rebounds through this weekend's two games.
