The Chico State women’s basketball team reached the century mark for the first time in 18 years in their dominant victory Thursday against Cal State East Bay 100-49. Every player for the Wildcats scored at least one basket in the conference home opener.
Senior forward Meadow Aragon led the way for the Wildcats with 18 points and eight rebounds while senior forward Mackenzie Laporte added 13 points.
The Wildcat bench played strong offensively, combining for 56 points. Junior guard Kaylie Edge reached a career high with 14 points along with five rebounds. Junior guard Jiana Creswell and freshman guard Kamil Reid each had a dozen points and sophomore guard Kaila Woo added 11. Senior forward Ashleigh Barr had a seven-point, five-rebound night to complete the reserves’ strong performance.
The Wildcat defense was smothering, holding East Bay to 30.5% from the field and forcing 26 turnovers.
Chico State led the entire game, jumping out to a 21-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Wildcats had a 40-14 lead at halftime and would continue to control the game in the second half on their way to a conference home opener win.
The Wildcats continued to defend their home court on Saturday after a strong second half surge that would help them defeat San Francisco State 84-70.
Laporte recorded career highs with 24 points and six assists while shooting 9-for-15 from the field and 5-for-5 on the free throw line. Senior guard Jordan Allred scored 15 points and Aragon added 10 points.
The Wildcats took a 42-34 lead at halftime and did not look back. Chico State then dominated the third quarter, outscoring the Gators 21-1 to take a 28-point lead, the largest gap in the game.
The Gators rallied in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to nine points with 6:17 left in the game. Laporte and senior guard Ciarah Michalik combined for 13 of the 15 points the Wildcats scored in the remainder of the game to help secure the win.
Chico State’s start to the season is their best since the 2018-19 season, going 7-1 and undefeated in conference play.
Chico State’s next game will be on Saturday, Dec. 14 when they take on Cal Poly Humboldt at 1 p.m. in Acker Gym. To keep up with live stats, click here or watch live here.
Trevor Lee can be reached at [email protected].
