Electric 1st quarter gives way to disappointing defeat for Humboldt
It almost seems impossible to think that after a 36-16 first quarter, the Cal Poly Humboldt women’s basketball team would lose against rival Chico State. But that first quarter proved to be an astonishing aberration, one that the ‘Jacks could not replicate as they only scored 30 points in the final three quarters en route to the 79-66 defeat.
Ultimately the dichotomy between that first-quarter performance and the remainder of the game was undeniably the story. The Lumberjacks went 7-for-10 from 3-point range in the first period, but were a combined 3-for-17 the rest of the game. The team’s field goal percentage collapsed nearly in half from 66.6% in the first to 33.9% to close the game. The blistering hot start turned dead cold.
While those looking at the final stats would attribute the loss to offensive attrition, Humboldt coach Michelle Bento-Jackson believed the culprit to be the team’s struggles on the defensive end.
“Chico, they’re a mature team. They’re an experienced team. They’re a quality team,” said BentoJackson. “So they got themselves back in the game and unfortunately, I really attribute that to the lack of our defensive effort.”
The caliber of Chico State as a team is without question. Chico is tied for third place in the CCAA with a record of 16-6 after the win. The team appears to be a near-lock for the NCAA Tournament at they’re current pace. But for Humboldt, any hope they have for the postseason hinges on pulling off upsets down the stretch as they encounter the most difficult teams in the conference in their final games. For the ‘Jacks to take a 20-point lead in the first quarter only to lose by doubledigits is certainly a deflating result.
“It’s usually a slippage on the defensive end that any quality team is going to take advantage of,” said Bento-Jackson. “As soon as you have a mistake or a mishap on the defensive end, we’re gonna get exploited. And you know, obviously, we want to be playing our best basketball right now.”
That first-quarter success was not instantaneous out of the gate. The ‘Jacks steadily built a 19-13 lead with just under 3:29 remaining in the first, but an offensive explosion from three-point range massively extended that lead. Forward Jayci Bayne made four threes in those final minutes, accounting for the bulk of the 11-0 run that closed the first period. Humboldt led 36-16 heading into the second quarter.
The splash from outside gave way to a desert of offensive struggles. Humboldt could only manage 5 points in the second period while the steady offensive production of Chico continued to improve. Still, the Lumberjacks held a 41-34 lead at halftime.
But there was no resolution to the team’s struggles in the second
half. It was a contrast to the team’s performance in their previous three-game win streak coming into the game, which was built by strong starts in the second half. The Lumberjacks clung to their lead as the two teams traded baskets. But the steady decline of the offense continued. The ‘Jacks could only manage one made shot in the final four minutes of the third quarter as the Wildcats overtook them. Chico led 56-54 heading into the final quarter.
Humboldt continued to battle, but a 12-0 run by Chico sealed their fate in the fourth quarter. The collapse that the team had resisted had unfortunately come to pass.
Individually, there were plenty of strong statistical performances for Humboldt. Bayne led the team with 24 points, although much of that damage was done in the first quarter. Forward Madison Parry kept the team afloat with her offense and finished with a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds in addition to 3 blocks. Jaydon Williams also had a double-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Those individual statistical bright spots highlight the fact Humboldt performed very well on the glass. The team narrowly won the battle on the boards by a rate of 38-37 and also had more secondchance points with 12. But the turnover battle doomed the ‘Jacks. Although the team was not vastly worse in the turnover margin, the mistakes were costly as Chico had 23 points off turnovers compared to just 10 for Humboldt.
The Lumberjacks will now try to rebound with four consecutive home games as they try to keep their hopes alive for the postseason.
“We’re very fortunate that we do have this stretch of home games here in Lumberjack Arena,” said Bento-Jackson. “We need to clearly take advantage of these four games at home.”
But the path is extremely difficult; beginning with the Chico game, five of Humboldt’s final seven games are against the top five teams in the CCAA standings. And besides those five, Humboldt will first have to beat Cal State East Bay on Thursday. The Lumberjacks beat the Pioneers 59-54 back in December, giving them an edge as the two teams are currently tied for seventh place in the standings.