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Friday vs. Cal State Monterey Bay
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Saturday vs. Cal State East Bay
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ARCATA, Calif. -- After clinching a postseason berth with Saturday's win over Chico State, the Humboldt State women's basketball team hits the road for a weekend series versus Cal State Monterey Bay and Cal State East Bay.
 
HSU's victory against Chico State guaranteed the Green and Gold a spot in the California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament, which will be played March 5-7 in Stockton, Calif. The Lumberjacks climbed three spots to No. 22 in the USA Today Coaches Poll released Tuesday.
 
"Clinching a spot in the postseason was obviously a key for us, especially with four games to go," said HSU Head Coach Joddie Gleason. "You know it's great to already have that in our mind that we're in. But we're not finished, we want to win the regular season, and we know we have tough games ahead of us."
 
Saturday's win over Chico State was a historic moment for the HSU women's basketball program. It marked the first time in 20 years (1994-95) the Green and Gold completed the regular season sweep of their archrivals.
 
Kersey Wilcox scored a season-high 20 points in Saturday's 85-65 win over the Wildcats. She was 7-for-13 shooting with eight assists and four rebounds.
 
"Kersey always gets overlooked a little bit by the average onlooker. She had a breakout scoring game on Saturday, which was nice to see. She's the reason why we are where we are. She finds people. She understands what we're running and why we're running it. She is somebody that is key to our success, and I was happy to see that she was able to put a few points on the board."
 
HSU took a lead wire-to-wire in Thursday's 85-62 blowout of Cal State Stanislaus. The Jacks led by as many as 34 points and connected on 10-of-20 (50 percent) of its 3-point opportunities. Jae Shin nailed seven treys and shot 70 percent (7-for-10) to lead the Green and Gold sharpshooters. She finished with a team-leading 25 points.
 
"Her 3-point percentage is just off the chart," said Gleason. "Having her as a weapon on the perimeter only helps us on the interior, because people know they can't provide any help. She's focused, driven and prepared, and she knows it's her last go around as a senior. I'm happy that her hard work in the gym has paid off, because people don't understand how many hours a shooter has to put in in order to have those kinds of numbers."
 
The Jacks defeated both Cal State East Bay and Cal State Monterey Bay earlier this season. HSU edged the Pioneers 68-66 on Jan. 15 and topped the Otters 76-55 on Jan. 17. Both opponents split their weekend series versus Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State Los Angeles.
 
Cal State Monterey Bay has won three of its last four home games. The Otters are desperate for wins as they are on the outside looking in at the playoff picture with a 5-13 mark. The Otters picked up a 64-60 win over the Golden Eagles after dropping Friday's meeting, 65-51, with the Toros.
 
"Cal State Monterey Bay is playing very well lately. We beat them in the first game, and you know going down there is going to be a different story," said Gleason. "They shoot very well at home and play very well at home. They have won three out of their last four games, and you know they are not a team to be taken lightly. They are guard oriented as far as their scorers and playmakers. We need to do a good job of trying to slow down their guard play while playing Humboldt State basketball."
 
Cal State East Bay is battling for the opportunity to join HSU in the postseason and has won six of its last 10 games. Guard Stephanie Lopez ranks third in the CCAA with 17.8 points per game and leads the Pioneers in scoring.
 
"We only beat them by two points here," said Gleason. "Stephanie Lopez is a prolific scorer and playmaker. If you focus too much on her, she will distribute the ball to her open teammates. We know that they are trying to get into the tournament and vying for the last few spots. I think that they are a very good team that has had a lot of success against us at home."