Stanislaus women fall to Chico State

TURLOCK -- Chico State's women's basketball team is ranked eighth in the country.

Yet, Cal State Stanislaus stuck with the Wildcats for most of the first half before its poor play made the Warriors sink further in a 75-51 loss Wednesday in the teams' California Collegiate Athletic Association opener.

Stanislaus shot 25.9 percent and committed 27 turnovers. First-team all-CCAA guard Gwen Page played just 11 minutes because of foul trouble.

It wasn't the response Stanislaus coach Sharon Turner-Dean hoped for after Stanislaus defeated Western Oregon to close the Hampton Inn Classic in Nampa, Idaho, on Saturday.

But the Warriors' performance was what Turner-Dean was afraid of after an uninspired practice Tuesday.

"Someone needs to step up and take charge and not let people have a bad practice," she said. "People that lead, lead in bits and pieces. We have people that are capable of doing it. Someone has to step up and do it."

The Warriors start CCAA play with the conference's two nationally ranked teams. They'll practice this morning, then get on a bus to face No. 4 UC San Diego on Friday.

Stanislaus kept the game close until the final six minutes of the first half. The Wildcats went on a 9-0 run to lead 30-16. Cristin Gowan hit a shot from just inside the half-court line at the buzzer to close the gap to 36-24.

The Warriors shot 28 percent in the first half and committed 17 turnovers. Stanislaus guard Amanda Everett joked that the Warriors would be better served to skip halftime -- they've started slow in the second half often.

"It was the same thing against Western Oregon," Everett said. "We were up by 25 and they came back. We have to solve that. We just need to get everyone together. At certain times, you can see we're really good."

Katie Busi led Stanislaus (1-3, 0-1 CCAA) with 12 points. Audriana Spencer had 14 points and seven rebounds to lead Chico State (4-0, 1-0 CCAA).

JC Men's Basketball

MJC 80, SKYLINE 64, at MJC -- The Pirates played with heavy hearts as teammate Mo Alaniz was in critical condition after an auto accident early Wednesday morning. Coach Paul Brogan said Modesto played inspired from the opening tip.

"There was no doubt what the outcome was going to be," Brogan said of the game. "It was tough on the guys. They went down to the hospital, and it was tough to see the family grieving like that."

Assured by the family that Alaniz would have wanted them to play, the Pirates were led by Brian Bergerson, who scored 18 of his 28 points in the second half. He made five 3-pointers and had five rebounds. Marvin Jefferson scored 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Chris Teevan had 10 points and 10 assists.

Alaniz was involved in a head-on collision on McHenry Avenue. Brogan said he was in critical but stable condition at Memorial Medical Center.

Escalon Lions Girls Tournament

ESCALON 38, DENAIR 28 -- Katie Kaech had 12 points for the victorious Cougars and Jessi Cole 18 for the Coyotes. Tonight Escalon plays Central Catholic at 8. Also today: Millennium vs. Downey, 3:30 p.m.; Argonaut vs. Denair, 5; Bella Vista vs. Turlock Christian, 6:30.

CENTRAL CATHOLIC 44, ARGONAUT 32 -- Devin Lapenias had 15 points to lead the Raiders over the Mustangs.

BELLA VISTA 69, DOWNEY 32 -- Kirstie Williams had 22 points (including four 3-pointers) for the victors, who led 22-14 after one period. Laura Lopez and Erica Lua had 10 points for the Knights.

TURLOCK CHR. 35, MILLENNIUM 25 -- Greta Gonzalez had 22 points for TC, which led 20-8 at the half after outscoring Millennium 17-1 in the second quarter.

Other Girls Tournaments

PERRIS 57, MODESTO CHR. 41, at La Jolla -- The Crusaders (0-1) went scoreless for the first four minutes of the third quarter, and a 35-24 halftime deficit grew to 20 in the first round of the La Jolla Country Day Tournament. Brandi Henton led MC with 14 points.

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO 57, CERES 45, at Millbrae -- Ceres got 13 points from Jode Johnson but lost at the Kelly O'Shea Tournament -- the victors outscored the Bulldogs 20-10 in the fourth quarter.

Nonleague Girls

MODESTO 59, PITMAN 40, at Modesto -- The Panthers (1-0) erased a 7-0 deficit and outscored the Pride (0-2) 18-5 in the second quarter to take a 28-18 halftime lead. Erika McCutcheon scored Modesto's last six points, and the Panthers finished with an 8-2 run to pull away. McCutcheon, Vanessa Flores and Elizabeth Pesaleli combined for 43 points, and Pesaleli grabbed 12 rebounds. Katie Staack led Pitman with 17 points.

TURLOCK 49, WESTON RANCH 20, at Turlock -- Weston Ranch (1-1) led 7-4 after one quarter before the Bulldogs (1-0) outscored the visitors 14-4 in the second. Samantha Bertomen and Rachel Finnegan led Turlock with 16 and 10 points. Finnegan had seven rebounds, seven assists and five steals.

Bee staff contributed to this report.