Complete Box Score

ROHNERT PARK, Ca. (Dec. 9) Kelsey Hill recorded her second straight double-double, but Chico State held off a ferocious rally with clutch free-throw shooting to defeat Seattle Pacific 61-56 in a battle of national women's basketball powers Saturday evening on the final day of the CCAA/GNAC Challenge at Sonoma State’s Seawolf Gym.

The Falcons (4-3), ranked No. 17 in NCAA II, got off to a slow start in an early key regional matchup between the last four West Region champions. Eighth-ranked Chico State (5-1) built a 20-point lead in the first half and led the entire contest, but the Falcons made a charge in the end, pulling to within three in the final two minutes.

Chico’s defense, however, forced a turnover and got a block in two of SPU’s final three trips down the floor, and the Wildcats shot 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the final 30 seconds to sneak away with the win.

Hill (So., 6-2, Portland, Or./Portland Christian) finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds as SPU’s only double-digit scorer. She helped lead the second-half charge as SPU outscored Chico 34-26, but the 13-point halftime deficit proved too great to overcome.

Renee Goldoff scored seven of her game-high 15 points during a 16-0 run midway through the first half that turned Chico’s one-point advantage into a 25-8 lead. A Niki Simons basket gave the Wildcats a 35-15 lead with three minutes left in the period, but that was their last point of the half as SPU pulled to 35-22 at the break.

Simons finished with 12 points and four rebounds in the victory. All-American forward Amber Simmons added 12 points and seven rebounds.

Goldoff’s basket with just over 16 minutes left in the game gave Chico a 16-points lead, but the Falcons began slowly chipping away, pulling to within single figures with seven minutes remaining in the game, and later getting to within three with 1:11 remaining.

Jackie Hollands (Jr., 5-9, Oregon City, Or.) scored all nine of her points from behind the arc, connecting on 3-of-7 three-point attempts in 20 minutes off the bench. Daesha Henderson (Fr., 5-8, Snohomish, Wa.) added eight points in 13 minutes as a reserve as SPU’s bench outscored Chico’s 27-14.

The Falcons endured through another tough shooting performance for the second straight night. Seattle Pacific shot just 33 percent from the field, but held the Wildcats to 38 percent. Seattle Pacific had a slight advantage (41-38) in rebounding, but committed 29 turnovers.

The Falcons now get a 10-day break, then travel to Las Vegas for the second leg of the CCAA/GNAC Challenge, where they open against another ranked opponent, No. 22 UC San Diego on Tuesday, Dec. 19 at 11:00 a.m.

CHICO STATE 61, SEATTLE PACIFIC 56
CHICO STATE (5-1) GOLDOFF, Renee 6-9 3-4 15; SIMONS, Niki 5-12 0-0 12; SIMMONS, Amber 5-11 2-3 12; EDWARDS, Cory 3-3 3-4 9; SPENCER, Audriana 1-7 3-4 5; SMITH-WILLIAMS, Jade 0-4 3-4 3; VEST, Christine 0-3 2-3 2; FORD, Haley 1-5 0-0 2; MONTEITH, Amanda 0-0 1-2 1; KARCHER, Teresa 0-1 0-0 0; RICHARDSON, Melissa 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-56 17-24 61.
SEATTLE PACIFIC (4-3) Hill,Kelsey 5-11 0-0 10; Hollands,Jackie 3-10 0-0 9; Henderson,Daesha 1-2 5-6 8; Fielding,Autumn 2-4 3 6 7; Menkens,Jessie 2-5 0-0 6; Magnuson,Libby 0-7 4-4 4; Schaar,Lexi 2-5 0-0 4; Strand,Rachel 1-4 2-2 4; Christensen,Beth 2-6 0-0 4; Hoisington,Megan 0-0 0-0 0; Christensen,Jessie 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-54 14-18 56.

Chico State................... 35 26 - 61 
Seattle Pacific............... 22 34 - 56

3-point goals-Chico State 2-11 (SIMONS, Niki 2-3; SPENCER, Audriana 0-4; SMITH-WILLIAMS, Jade 0 1; FORD, Haley 0-2; KARCHER, Teresa 0-1), Seattle Pacific 6-20 (Hollands,Jackie 3-7; Menkens,Jessie 2-4; Henderson,Daesha 1-1; Strand,Rachel 0-1; Christensen,Beth 0-3; Magnuson,Libby 0-3; Fielding,Autumn 0-1). Fouled out--Chico State-None, Seattle Pacific-None. Rebounds-Chico State 38 (SIMMONS, Amber 7), Seattle Pacific 41 (Hill,Kelsey 11). Assists-Chico State 10 (MONTEITH, Amanda 2; SPENCER, Audriana 2; SMITH-WILLIAMS, Jade 2), Seattle Pacific 13 (Christensen,Beth 4). Total fouls-Chico State 19, Seattle Pacific 24. A-207. Game 3: CCAA/GNAC Challenge.