2002-03 Season Archive

Jennifer Kern (lft) and Kara Scheitlin receive All-CCAA honors

Senior Jennifer Kern and Kara Scheitlin both received Second Team All-CCAA honors for the 2001-2002 season.

Kern, a second year player for the 'Cats led the team in scoring (13.4 ppg) and rebounding (7.6 rpg), putting her ninth and eighth, respectively, among the CCAA leaders. She had seven double-doubles on the year and had the sixth best shooting percentage in the conference 49 percent.

Scheitlin led the team with 17 blocks and was second in both scoring (13.0 ppg) and rebounding (6.2 rpg). Her 49.6 shooting percentage was good enough for fifth among all CCAA players. Scheitlin has two years of eligibilty remaining, giving the Wildcats proven talent heading into next season.

Chico State splits final games on the road

The Wildcats ended the season with a split of possibly the most grueling roadtrip of the season to Grand Canyon University and UC San Diego.

The 'Cats opened the trip by suffering a 77-70 loss to Grand Canyon, which has been at the bottom of the CCAA standings all season.

The Wildcats outscored the 'Lopes 46-39 in the second half, but it wasn't enough to overcome the 14-point halftime deficit. Chico had two players with double-doubles, Kara Scheitlin (19 points, 12 rebounds) and Jennifer Kern (15 points, 13 rebounds).

Smilie Glenn picked up three steals, breaking the all-time record for steals in a season. She finishes with 84.

On Saturday, Chico State jumped out to a 14-2 lead and never looked back as the Wildcats routed UC San Diego, 85-53, in the women’s basketball season finale at RIMAC Arena.

Chico Sate allowed San Diego just 25 percent shooting from the floor (16-64) and outrebounded the Tritons, 56-42.

Jennifer Kern led a balanced Chico State attack with a game-high 15 points and 11 rebounds. Kara Scheitlin added 14 points and 10 boards, while Kim Abts scored 14 points and Smilie Glenn had 13. Rexanne Simpton dished out eight assists on the night.

'Cats win final home game

Chico State ended its home season in style, putting together a spectacular second half to hand CSU Stanislaus a 89-63 loss in Acker Gym.

With the score knotted 36-36 at the half, Chico took the lead with 14:36 remaining in the game and then went on a 23-3 run over the next eight minutes to put the game out of reach.

On a night when Chico's two seniors, Jennifer Kern and Shanti Huntington, were honored before the game, everyone on the roster saw playing time in front of the home-town crowd.

Kim Abts led all scorers with a season-high 24 points and 10 assists. Smilie Glenn picked up three steals in the game to tie the single-season steals record with 81 on the year. Wendy Bates had 81 in the 1987-88 season.

Kara Scheitlin notched 19 points Maija Panttaja came off the bench to add 12 points, 4-for-4 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.

The Wildcats wrap up the season next weekend at Grand Canyon and San Diego.

This one was for M.A.

Friday night's women's basketball game between visiting Cal State Bakersfield and Chico State University was a celebration of the life and spirit of Mary Ann Lazzarini, who coached the Wildcats for 13-plus seasons before passing away Thursday after a second bout with cancer.

The team and many Chico State faculty members wore ribbons in honor of Lazzarini, affectionately known by many as M.A. There were few dry eyes in Acker Gymnasium when several seconds of silence were taken before the game. Perhaps most fitting, however, was the extraordinary effort made by her beloved team. The Wildcats took the nation's 23rd-ranked Roadrunners to the wire before losing 79-77 on Jennifer Hanson's 10-foot jumper with five seconds to play.

I think we played our hearts out with all the toughness and intensity (Mary Ann) would have asked for, said acting head coach Rich Simpton. She would have been very proud of this team tonight.

Jennifer Kern finished with 14 points and a team-high 12 rebounds but missed two shots from in close in the waning seconds. The entire Chico State bench erupted, thinking that a foul should be called. Instead, Bakersfield's Hanson grabbed the rebound with 10 seconds left, dribbled her way down court, and hit a wide open jump shot for the win. Kern didn't let the loss shake her, however.

Before the game we all talked about how what was most important for us tonight was to play how M.A. would want us to play, said Kern. We wanted to go out there, play as a team, and give everything we had. We did that and that's all that M.A. would ask from us. We can walk out of her feeling good about what we did out there tonight and knowing that M.A. would be proud.

From the opening tip it was clear that the Wildcats were playing for someone special. Chico State built the lead to 26-16 midway through the first half and went into intermission tied 40-all. It was truly a team effort in the half as seven different players scored four points or more, led by Rexanne Simpton's seven points.

It looked like the magic might be over as the second half got under way and Bakersfield put together an 11-2 run to take a 51-42 lead with 15:10 to play. Smile Glenn and Kathryn Kettles came off the bench to quell the rally, however, and tightened the gap to 51-49 in a minute's time. The Wildcats stayed within six points for the next seven minutes but could never retake the lead until Glenn scored after Michelle Pietka's beautiful pass in the lane to with 7:41 to play, making it 64-63.

The Wildcats' lead was short-lived, however, and when Jiell Stoddard hit a jump shot with six minutes to play, the Wildcats had experienced their last advantage. Bakersfield built the lead to as many as four on two Heather Garay free throws with 2:10 to play. Simpton's jumper seconds later made it a two-point game, however, and Kern knotted the score at 77-77 when she collected a steal and turned it into a layup with 1:14 remaining. Chico State got a chance for the game's last shot when Garay was called for an offensive foul on Bakersfield's next possession, but Kern's bid in traffic didn't find the net and Hansen had ample time to get off a good shot.

Mary Ann hated to lose and I know she would be just as frustrated with this one as I am, said Simpton. Unfortunately we didn't get any breaks in those last few seconds and they did.

But the bottom line is we came out and played together in a way we haven't all season and that's a real tribute to how much Mary Ann has meant to these players.

Garay led all scorers with 33 points and pulled down 11 rebounds as Bakersfield improved to 20-4 on the season and 16-3 in the CCAA. Dianne Dittburner added 18 points but shot just 4-of-16 from the floor.

Kara Scheitlin paced the Wildcats (13-11, 8-11 CCAA) with 18 points, nine rebounds, and four steals. Glenn notched 13 points and two steals, leaving her three shy of Wendy Bates' single-season school record of 81 with three games to play.

The Wildcats' home finale is tonight when Cal State Stanislaus comes to town. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Wildcats drop two over the weekend

The Chico State women’s basketball team gave the No. 1 team in the nation – Cal Poly Pomona – a bit of a scare, but the Broncos hung on to beat the Wildcats 88-81 Friday night. Five different Wildcats scored in double-figures. Kim Abts led the way with 15, Jennifer Kern and Maija Panttaja scored 12 apiece, and Rexanne Simpton and Smile Glenn chipped in 11 points each. But Cal Poly Pomona’s Lauri McIntosh shot 14-of-22 from the field and scored 33 points to key the Broncos’ victory.

Cal Poly Pomona lost to Chico State last season during conference play before going on to win the national title.

The Wildcats suffered a bit of a letdown Saturday night after the tough loss to Pomona and fell at Cal State San Bernardino 67-55. The Wildcats shot just 35-percent and got outrebounded 43-36. Kern led the Wildcats in scoring with 15 points and Pietka notched her first double-double on the season by scoring 11 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. However, Sharee Brown managed a double-double of her own with 26 points and 10 rebounds to lift San Bernardino to victory.

The Wildcats have now dropped four straight games.

Women's basketball falls to Sonoma

The Wildcats opened their second game of the season against Sonoma State with a 6-0 run, but would never regain the lead, losing to the Cossacks, 59-51, Saturday night in Acker Gym.

The loss is the second in two nights for the 'Cats and drops their record to 8-8 in CCAA play, 13-8 overall. Sonoma improves to 12-4 in conference, 16-5 overall.

Jennifer Kern (12 points, 13 rebounds) and Kara Scheitlin (12 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals) were the only two Wildcats to score in double figures. Michelle Pietka led all players with five assists.

Sonoma, which led 32-26 at the half, also had just two players in double digits, Jessica Jones (13 points) and Domenica Curran (10 points).

Women’s basketball team drops heartbreaker

The Chico State women’s basketball team lost a heartbreaking 59-58 decision to visiting San Francisco State Friday night.

Jennifer Kutz hit a free throw with nine seconds remaining to give the visiting Gators the victory. Kutz finished with a game-high 11 rebounds and Jessica McKimmie paced San Francisco State with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Sharee Sykes chipped in 14 points and seven boards.

Kara Scheitlin led Chico State with 16 points and Kim Abts scored 13 in the loss.

Scheitlin leads women to sweep down south

Kara Scheitlin scored a career-high 27 points in a 78-69 win at Cal State LA on Friday night and followed up that effort with 23 points in a 67-49 win over Cal State Dominguez Hills to give the Wildcats a pair of key CCAA victories last weekend in Southern California.

Friday night, the Wildcats erupted for 49 second-half points against Cal State LA, which had won seven of its last 10 games since falling to Chico State in the CCAA opener for both teams in Chico. Scheitlin scored 18 points in the second half and Smilie Glenn chipped in all 12 of her points after intermission. Michelle Pietka and Kim Abts added 11 points apiece.

Saturday, the Wildcats trailed 27-26 at the half but outscored the host Toros 41-22 in the second half. Glenn again joined Scheitlin in double-figures with 10 points and she also collected five steals.

The Wildcats are home this weekend to face San Francisco State Friday night and Sonoma State Saturday night.

Women steal victory from 6th-ranked UC Davis

CHICO - Smilie Glenn and Kim Abts collected eight steals apiece and the Chico State women's basketball team ad a season-high 25 as the Wildcats avenged a loss to C Davis earlier in the week, winning 82-70 in overtime.

Glenn and Abts fell one steal shy of Coach Mary Ann Lazzarini's school record of nine steal in 1974. The team fell just two steals shy of the school record.

UC Davis, which entered the game ranked No. 6 in the Western Region, committed 37 turnovers and lost despite Shea Purkiss' game-high 22 points.

Kara Scheitlin led the Wildcats with 20 points, while Michelle Pietka and Abts chipped in 17 apiece.

The Wildcats, ranked No. 10 in the West, improved to 11-6 overall and 6-6 in the CCAA. UC Davis dips to 11-5 overall and 8-4 in CCAA play.

Chico State trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half and 10 points in the second. But the Wildcats put together a 13-0 run keyed by Pietka's 10-point outburst, to take their first lead of the game.

Chico State was seemingly in control from that point on and led 61-55 with two minutes to play. But Purkiss and Kim Omer buried back-to-back 3-pointers to knot the game 61-all. Pietka's layup made it 63-61 with 35 seconds to play, but UC Davis' Sarah Allen answered with a layup with 21 seconds remaining to force overtime.

In overtime it was all Wildcats. They went out with an 11-2 run, the first six points of which came from Scheitlin and led by as many as 14 points.