By Jacques Lee  |Staff Writer|

With the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Tournament right around the corner, the CSUSB women’s basketball team continues to push for their ticket in.

The Coyotes increased their chances by earning a very convincing win over the Chico State Wildcats on Thursday, Feb 12 on their home turf. 

The Coyotes played so well that they had led the entire game and only let the Wildcats tie the game once.

The Coyotes started off very hot going on an 11-2 run in the first five minutes of the game and had 11-point lead starting the second quarter where they led 41-30.

Head coach Renee Jimenez said, “You know, I thought we came out and shot the ball really well in the first like ten minutes of the game. You know, we are a big defensive team, so sometimes we have some lows offensively, so I think when we can get some confidence that we’re going to, you know, have a breakout game offensively the first half, I think that gives us confidence and sets the tone for the start of the game,” when asked about the second quarter. 

The Coyote’s dominance was not slowed down by halftime. The ladies continued to build their lead and took the lead to an astounding 28 points with 6:07 left to play in the game.

The final score was 71-52 in favor of the Coyotes.

Junior guard Chelsea Barnes, was one of the lead scorers and finished the game with 21 points and seven rebounds. Junior guard Alexcia Mack finished with 20 points, five assists, and four steals.

Mack came up huge in the game when she made three 3-pointers in a row when the Coyotes were tied during the first half, and ended up scoring 14 points in three and a half minutes.

When asked about her big game, Mack said, “I just want to make sure I’m doing my part for my team to help my team out and getting everyone involved is really a big thing for me, and I have to step up sometimes and make a few shots to get everyone else going so they can contribute as well.”

Junior Adriana Brodie finished the game with 12 points, junior Chelsea Austin finished with nine points and five rebounds, senior Briana Baker finished with four points and three steals, and junior Briana Harden scored two points and seven rebounds.

This win put the Coyotes at a 16-5 record overall and 12-5 record in conference with just five more games to play before the tournament starts.

The Coyote’s current record puts them in a good position to get into the tournament.

“Some coaches don’t talk about [it] but we talk about it before every game. [At] the start of every week, you know where we are, what we need to do, who we need to beat, and you know what position we want to keep ourselves in,” said Jiminez about the upcoming tournament. “They are very aware we don’t try to sweep it under the rug and hide it from them. I want them to know what each game means to them.”