It may not be a victory, but at this point it could be a small moral win for the rebuilding Cal State Stanislaus women's basketball team. Saturday night, on the road, the Warriors came close before No. 20 Chico State held on for a 68-58 conference win.
For the Warriors, it was their closest game since the opening game shootout at Dominican. It certainly was the Warriors' closest game during California Collegiate Athletic Association season. Cal State Stanislaus had lost three previous CCAA games by an average margin of 24 points - all at home at Fitzpatrick Arena - including a 36-point defeat to Chico State on Nov. 20.
Saturday night it was a different story. After trailing by 10 points, the Warriors led at the half, 34-33, on a run capped by a Katie Staack jumper. The Warriors were within eight at 2:33 left to play on a Lauren Godde bucket.
However, Chico State stayed undefeated by holding on to the win to improve to 8-0 overall and 4-0 in the CCAA. It is the Wildcats' best since the 1973-74.
The Warriors (0-8, 0-4 CCAA) were playing their fourth game against a ranked opponent.
Lauren Godde finished with 16 points, so did Devin Brown, who came off the bench to spark the offense by shooting 6 of 11. Briana Cotton chipped in 10 points and Erin Godde grabbed 10 rebounds.
A big improvement for the Warriors' were their free throw shooting - one of the reasons they stated in the game Saturday night. Collectively, the Warriors were 12 for 15.
Chico State held the edge in rebounding (43-35) and three-point shooting as the Wildcats made six. The 'Cats were led by Jazmine Miller, who had 15 points and 15 rebounds.