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Chico State's independent student newspaper

The Orion

Chico State's independent student newspaper

The Orion

Chico State's independent student newspaper

The Orion

Women’s basketball team hits bump in the road over break

Junior+Sherise+Porchia+attacks+the+defense+while+dribbling+down+the+floor.+Photo+credit%3A+Jordan+Olesen
Junior Sherise Porchia attacks the defense while dribbling down the floor. Photo credit: Jordan Olesen

With a conference record of just 3-8, and an overall record of 8-9, the Chico State women’s basketball team has struggled to snap its losing streaks.

Although the women’s basketball team has been unable to find its stride and break into a winning streak, several players have attempted to take on the burden of carrying the team. One player, who’s teammates acknowledged to be a huge factor in their games, is junior guard Sherise Porchia.

When asked what her contributing factor was to the team, Porchia spoke of her “go-get-it attitude” and desire to push everything to go in the right direction. This fire is surely evident in her performance on Jan. 16 against Sonoma State, where she collected a double-double, racking up 11 points and 10 assists.

The Wildcats recent road struggles may be attributed to faulty ball handling, resulting in a surplus of turnovers. Sophomore guard Whitney Branham believed working on turnovers to be a critical point in their game.

“We’ve been playing scrimmages under pressure…using game situations so they become second nature when faced with the play in a real game,” Branham said.

branham.jpg
Sophomore Whitney Branham winds up for a free throw attempt while her team gets ready for the rebound. Photo credit: Cam Lesslie

With frustrations running high, the team has made a grand effort to try and change its current situation, especially the lone senior, forward/guard, Brooke Bowen. In the team’s last game against Simpson University, Bowen had 17 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals.

“I want to enjoy the rest of my time at Chico. I would love to keep winning because I know we have the potential to win and beat all the teams in our conference,” Bowen said. “I think we just need to believe in ourselves and in each other and trust we are good enough, because I know we can do it.”

Although the Wildcats have struggled over break, their next obstacle is rapidly approaching as they will be attending classes again. Despite their recent performance and added workload, the team showed no concern in how it will play after school is in session.

“I don’t think it will have a negative effect, we started our season in the first semester so we already have an idea of going to school on top of playing basketball….It may be weird at first but I know we will all adapt to it,” Bowen said.

Despite the team’s rough start to the year, the hope of making it to playoffs is still alive. They still have 10 conference games left and four consecutive games at home. They have had a 5-2 performance at home and have found most of their troubles in their away games, racking up just a 3-7 record.

Chico State won their second game in a row against Simpson University on Jan. 23 in Acker Gym. With their recent win against Cal State San Marcos on Jan. 21, breaking their away-game losing streak, the Wildcats will be attempting to turn their season around.

Gabriella Bermudez can be reached at [email protected] or @gabbybermudez2 on Twitter.

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