CHICO, Calif. – Despite a strong, resilient performance that featured eight ties and multiple late pushes, the Cal State San Marcos women's basketball team (7-19, 4-17 CCAA) came up just short in a 59-55 battle at Chico State (19-8, 15-6 CCAA) on Thursday night.

TOP PERFORMERS
Portia Polo – 12 points | 2 rebounds | 2 assists 
Mylah Lewis – 12 points | 1 rebound | 2 assists 
Kaity Haan – 7 points | 14 rebounds | 2 blocks | 2 steals 
Sydney Hani – 7 points | 9 rebounds | 3 assists | 4 blocked shots
Tatum Tamashiro – 8 points | 4 rebounds | 3 assists

HOW IT HAPPENED

• CSUSM opened the game with back-to-back free throws from Kaity Haan to take a 2-0 lead, and later a 3-pointer by Portia Polo pushed the Cougars ahead 6-4.
• Chico State responded with an 11-5 run to close the first quarter, taking a 15-11 advantage after a late layup by Ivy Gonzalez.
• In the second quarter, the Wildcats used a pair of early 3-pointers to build their largest first-half lead at 23-11. CSUSM answered with a strong stretch that included a three from Mylah Lewis and a fast-break layup from Sydney Hani, cutting the deficit to 27-25.
• Chico State scored the final three points of the half to take a 30-27 lead at the break.
• CSUSM tied the game three separate times in the third quarter, with Kristan Yumul connecting on two key 3-pointers and Kat Noa knocking down a jumper to make it 38-38.
• Chico State scored the final six points of the period, including a fast-break layup in the final seconds, to take a 44-41 advantage into the fourth.
• The fourth quarter featured three ties, including a Tatum Tamashiro 3-pointer that knotted the score at 51-51 with 3:38 remaining.
• CSUSM pulled within 55-53 after two free throws from Hani at 2:04 and again at 57-55 on a Haan layup with 16 seconds left, but the Wildcats sealed the game at the line in the closing seconds.

 
QUICK HITS

• CSUSM shot 32.8% (19-of-58) from the field and 29.0% (9-of-31) from beyond the arc.
• Chico State finished shooting 37.1% (23-of-62) overall and 16.7% (2-of-12) from 3-point range.
• The Wildcats held a 40-38 rebounding advantage, including a 12-4 margin in second-chance points.
• The Cougars matched Chico State with 16 points off turnovers and picked up seven fast-break points.
• CSUSM recorded six blocked shots, including four from Sydney Hani and two from Katiy Haan.
• CSUSM never trailed by more than 10 and tied the game eight times.

UP NEXT
CSUSM concludes the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 28, traveling north to face Cal Poly Humboldt for a 1 p.m tipoff.