• Final Stats
SEATTLE -- Natasha Smith scored eight of her 11 points during the second half Friday, including a contested jumper that secured Chico State's 66-63 women's basketball win over Western Washington in the first round of the GNAC/CCAA Challenge at Brougham Pavilion.
The Wildcats (4-2) trailed by as many as eight in the first half before scoring the final three points to draw within 38-34 at halftime.
Chico opened the second half with a 9-2 run, but Western (4-3) reclaimed the lead and went ahead 50-46 on a shot in the lane by Erika Ramstead with 12:30 left to play.
Smith converted a free three-point play with a layup and free throw at 10:31 to cap an eight-point surge that put the Wildcats ahead for good at 54-50.
The Vikings closed within 64-63 on two free throws from Sarah Hill with 1:50 remaining. They got the ball back after a shot-clock violation, but Sydney Donaldson missed a jumper with 54 seconds left.
On the ensuing possession, Smith drained a 19-foot jumper with 26.2 on the clock to forge the final margin. She hit the shot over a defender from just left of the top of the key.
WWU had two tries at an equalizer. The first, with four seconds to play, was missed by Kristin Schramm, but the rebound went out of bounds off a Wildcat.
The Vikings inbounded to Corinn Waltrip with 2.2 seconds to play and her 3-point attempt from the right side was blocked by Chico's Courtney Hamilton as time expired.
Synchro Bull scored 14 points to lead CSU and Jazmine Miller added 10.
Waltrip tallied 15 of her game-high 17 points in the first half for Western, which also got 15 from Britt Harris and 10 from Ramstead.
Both teams remain in Seattle to participate in the second day of the inter-conference Challenge. Western Washington will play Sonoma State at 5 p.m. on Saturday and Chico State will square off with host Seattle Pacific at 7 p.m.
Chico State and Sonoma are members of the California Collegiate Athletic Association while Western Washington and SPU compete in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
GNAC/CCAA Challenge -- Game 1
Friday, Dec. 9, 2011
Brougham Pavilion/Seattle, Wash.
CHICO STATE 66, WESTERN WASHINGTON 63
WESTERN WASHINGTON (4-3)
Ramstead 3-4 3-4 10, Donaldson 2-8 0-0 4, Harris 6-9 3-5 15, Waltrip 6-12 2-2 17, Schramm 1-4 0-0 2, Hill 1-5 3-4 5, Williams 1-6 2-2 4, Colard 1-3 0-0 3, Feeney 0-4 2-2 2, Bernsen 0-4 1-2 1, White 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-60 16-21 63.
CHICO STATE (4-2)
Davidson-Mays 2-7 0-0 4, Dalthorp 2-7 4-4 8, Bull 5-13 4-4 14, Hamilton 1-2 0-0 3, Miller 3-13 3-4 10, Smith 4-6 3-5 11, Harrison 2-7 0-0 6, Sewell 3-8 0-0 6, Messersmith 2-2 0-0 4, Rene 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-65 14-17 66.
Western Washington....... 38 25 - 63
Chico State.............. 34 32 - 66
3-point goals--WWU 5-17 (Waltrip 3-7, Colard 1-3, Ramstead 1-2, Feeney 0-2, Schramm 0-3), CSU 4-15 (Harrison 2-4, Hamilton 1-2, Miller 1-5, Smith 0-2, Bull 0-2). Fouled out--WWU-None, CWU-None. Rebounds--WWU 46 (Hill 10), CSU 39 (Sewell 11). Assists--WWU 11 (Waltrip 3), CSU 15 (Hailton 4). Total fouls--WWU 17, CSU 18. Technical fouls--WWU-None, CSU-None. A-106.
