Wildcats drop a close one in overtime
Maddy Wong dribbles the ball in effort to get away from her opposing guard.
Women’s basketball took on the UC San Diego Tritons on Thursday in Acker Gym, only to lose the game in overtime. The score finalized at 61-69 and the Tritons came out victorious.
Guard Myli Martinez was the Wildcats’ leading scorer of the night with 18 points. Even this, however, was not a big enough point boost to defeat the Tritons.
“They were just playing off me, and I know Maddy is our leading scorer. I knew they were going to be all up on her,” Martinez said.
When the game reached halftime, the Wildcats were down by just one point. Guard Shay Stark mentioned the adjustments her team made to get back on track during the second half of the game.
“We just stuck with our game plan. We wanted to be tenacious and very active on the defensive side,” Stark said. “Make them earn every basket that they got. I think that’s what we did throughout the whole game.”
Shay Stark looks to find an open path against the UC San Diego Tritons.
Not to mention, during the second half of the game, forward Haley Ison exited the game due to an injury. Her teammate Mikaila Wegenke commented on the injury to Ison.
“She landed on someone’s foot I’m pretty sure,” Wegenke said. “She’s been having ankle issues this past week, so it was taped. They (athletic trainers) said it was more muscle related. Hopefully she’ll be good by Saturday.”
As the game entered the fourth quarter, the Wildcats were trailing by just three points. They battled fiercely throughout the last quarter, as they scored 13 points and forced the game into overtime.
Entering overtime, the Wildcats played hard but did not score a single basket throughout the five minute quarter. Despite a frustrating overtime for the Wildcats, many positives came out of the night.
“Overall as a team, I feel like we put in a very good 45 minute effort all the way around,” Stark said. “Our offense did what we wanted to as far as getting the ball inside and then kicking it back out. On the defensive side, we just stuck to our game plan. We made them earn their shots.”
Opposing players demonstrate both strong offense and defense, calling for a close game.
With this loss, Chico State stands with an overall record of 12-9. The Wildcats now turn their attention to their next opponent, California State University, San Marcos, as they get ready to face off in Acker Gym on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 5:30 p.m.
Alex Martin can be reached at [email protected] or @amjournalism130 on Twitter.
