ARCATA, Calif. – The Humboldt State women's basketball team looks to build on last Saturday's 71-53 home win over San Bernardino versus Chico State Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

"As I explained to everyone in practice, this is the time of the year when you're getting everyone for the second time, and the stakes are higher for everybody as far as conference standings go," said Lumberjack Head Coach Michelle Bento-Jackson. "Every game at this stage just gets bigger and bigger and we have to be prepared to give our best effort every single night."

The Jacks will look to stop Wildcat star guard and California Collegiate Athletic Association scoring leader Whitney Branham, who went off for 31 points in the Jacks' first date with Chico on Nov. 18 in Lumberjack Arena, a 70-58 loss. It won't get any easier for the Jacks in their trip to Art Acker Gymnasium, where the Wildcats have posted an 8-0 mark this year.

Humboldt State enters the rivalry game with an 8-4 record in conference play and a 9-8 mark overall, and Chico State is 10-6 overall and 8-4 in conference. Tyla Turner leads Green and Gold scorers averaging 17.8 points per game, and she also paces the squad in rebounding with 6.8 per game. The Jacks got a boost off the bench last week with 20 points from Jovanah Arrington, who scored a season-best 14 versus San Bernardino.

"We're a better team today, and Chico's a better team today," said Bento-Jackson. "We're going into their home court, and they're undefeated at home. It's going to be a great environment, an exciting environment, let alone what's at stake. The good thing is that we've had all week to prepare for them, and there aren't really going to be any surprises as far as what we'll see from them. We just have to do what we need to do on that defensive end of the floor and get into an offensive flow by sharing the ball."