MONMOUTH, Ore. – Having faced Chico State eight previous times since 2001, the Western Oregon University women's basketball team had yet to claim a victory in the series. That all changed in the ninth all-time meeting when the Wolves picked up the first program victory over Chico State taking the 68-60 win Friday night inside New PE Gym.
Chico State (3-0) came in undefeated and were averaging 80 points a game. The Wolves (2-1) limited the Wildcats to just 27 percent shooting from the field and a 21.4 percent clip from three-point range. Not only did Chico State come in averaging over 80 points a game, they were shooting over 49 percent from the field as well through the first three games. WOU utilized 12 blocked shots as a team to keep Chico State to the low shooting percentage, with Meadow Aragon sending back five. Alexis Wright added two and then Cali McClave, Tresai McCarver, Makenna Gambee, Ana McClave and Amber Winkler all added a block each.
"It feels really good to walk away with a win tonight. Chico came in 3-0 and is a really tough team that just never goes away," head coach Holli Howard-Carpenter said.
WOU led for all but 59 seconds of the game and the Chico State lead was only by a point before the Wolves regained the lead and never looked back. It was a big game for Aragon, as not only did she send back five blocks, she added 16 points and 14 rebounds in 28 minutes. She went 8-12 from the field. Cali McClave gave the Wolves two in double-figures scoring 13, along with three rebounds and two assists. McCarver added nine points (nine assists), while Princy Paaluhi-Caulk and Kaelin Williams-Kennedy scored eight points apiece. The Wolves shot 43.1 percent (28-65) from the field on the night.
The Wolves came out full of energy and it showed over the first few minutes. Aragon scored just 22 seconds in and after adding another jumper, Cali McClave pushed the early lead to 6-0 with a layup two minutes in.
"We got off to a great start offensively with our transition and were able to get on the glass for some second opportunities. We stayed locked in on defense most of the night and I'm really proud of how we responded when the game got close," Howard-Carpenter said.
After Chico State fought back to pull to within two, WOU went on a 10-0 run that took up most of the first quarter. McCarver started the rally with a jumper and after Wright tallied back-to-back baskets, Paaluhi-Caulk closed the run with four straight points for a 18-6 lead.
The Wildcats closed the final minutes of the opening quarter strong using a 6-0 run to get back to within six at 18-12 entering the second quarter.
Towards the midway point of the second quarter, Chico State took their only lead of the game at 23-22. On the very next possession, WOU answered with a layup by Casandra White to regain the lead and never look back.
Chico State tied the game at 25 before WOU finished the half on a 4-0 run with Aragon hitting a jumper and two free throws by Gambee for the 29-25 lead at the break.
WOU had the lead back out to double-digits early in the third quarter when Cali McClave sunk a three-pointer for the 37-27 lead.
Just like most of the night, Chico State refused to go away coming back with a 9-2 run to cut the deficit back to three. The Wildcats kept the pressure up and ended up closing to within a point at 47-46 at the end of the third quarter.
It was closing time for the Wolves in the fourth as they outscored the Wildcats, 21-14, shooting 50 percent from the field and holding Chico State to a 23.8 percent clip.
WOU scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter and held Chico State without a point over the first nearly five minutes. Williams-Kennedy opened the run with a layup, then following a second-chance jumper by Cali McClave, Williams-Kennedy broke out on the fastbreak to convert a layup to push the lead to seven. Even a timeout by the Wildcats didn't slow the run, with McCarver hitting a layup and then Cali McClave hitting a three for the 58-46 lead.
The Wildcats made one final push to make things interesting down the stretch. Over the next three-plus minutes, Chico State went on a 12-4 run to get to within four at 62-58 with two minutes to play. Aragon came up with a big jumper about a minute later to stretch the lead to six and after the defense forced another stop, WOU was able to hold off any potential comeback to claim the eight-point win.
"Meadow was an absolute beast tonight, she got to the rim, got on the glass and had some huge blocks for us. In the second half, Cali got us going with some 3s early while Kaelin and Princy gave us some great minutes. I'm extremely proud of Tresai, she had a tough defensive assignment trying to guard Charity Gallegos, she also saw the floor and distributed the ball well," Howard-Carpenter said.
WOU held big advantages on points in the paint (46-20), fastbreak points (14-4), and bench points (26-12).
Gallegos led the Wildcats with 20 points, while Myli Martinez added 13 and Makenzi Laporte with 12.
WOU will look to carry the momentum from the win tonight into the matchup with Sonoma State tomorrow starting at 2:15 p.m. inside New PE Gym. Saint Martin's rallied to defeat Sonoma State, 68-63, in the first game Friday.
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November 20, 2021 at 11:12AM
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Women's Basketball Records First Program Win Over Chico State - WOU Athletics
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