The Chico State women’s basketball game lost their matchup against San Francisco State Thursday by a score of 78-69. This makes it seven losses in a row and puts the season out of their hands if they want to reach the playoffs.

The Wildcat’s offense executed early as they were able to play with good tempo and got lots of looks for shot opportunities. The shots fell their way early and Chico was able to start the second quarter with a four-point lead.

San Francisco’s offense was also doing well in the first half and their freshman guard Isabella Lamonea was on fire with her three-pointers. She hit three shots from behind the arc and had 11 points in the first half to bring the Gators within 5 at the half.

Chico State was able to set their offensive tone in the third quarter as senior forwards Natalie Valenzuela and McKena Barker excelled in the paint and did their part to keep the Wildcats in it. Valenzuela had a total of 13 points while Barker put up a team-high 19 points.

Despite an 8-0 run by Chico State to start the fourth quarter, the Gators were able to maintain control for most of the frame. The Wildcats were able to get within three points with a little under a minute left but San Francisco hit a dagger three-pointer with only 23 seconds left to put the game out of reach.

Chico tried their luck with fouling late but the Gator’s Jhaina Stephens capped off an outstanding free throw shooting night with four more to cement the loss for the Wildcats

After the game McKena Barker said that the team “fell short on defense” and “they needed to talk more on the defensive end.”

While the result of this game doesn’t necessarily eliminate the Wildcats from playoff contention, it also doesn’t help them. Chico needs to win their next game and as Barker put it “need some help from the basketball gods.

The Wildcats wrap up the regular season with their final home game on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. against Sonoma State University. The contest will be full of emotion as it will be senior night with a playoff spot on the line.

Matthew Ferreira can be reached at [email protected] or @MattFerreira_ on Twitter.