While students were enjoying their winter break, CSU Stanislaus’ basketball teams have been battling it out on the court since Jan. 2. Before the first week of school, each team played eight games over the course of four weeks, including four home games at Ed and Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena. The four week stretch was not a productive one for the women’s team as they lost six of their eight games.
The Warriors lost the first four games straight by a margin of at least 13 points and at most 27 points. High-scoring junior, Jasmine Washington, missed two of the winter games without notice and once she returned, the women’s basketball team won two straight games be-fore taking two more losses by smaller margins of three to four points.
Unfortunately, the number of losses has landed the women’s team in the ninth slot, three spots from making the conference tournament. On another note, the men’s basketball team won six of their eight winter games, only losing to Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State Monterey Bay. In the four week span, the men’s team also won all four games they played at Fitzpatrick Arena. The first six games were all won or lost by a margin of six points or less, while the second loss came by 20 points and the last win of the winter series came by 10 points.
The winter series included a battle for first place as the Warriors opened the spring semester in a three-way tie for first place with Chico State and Cal Poly Pomona. In the first week back, the basketball teams flipped their wins again as the men’s team beat last place Cal State Dominguez Hills on Friday by only five points and the women’s team lost to Dominguez Hills by seven.
Unable to hold the three-way tie forever, the men’s team lost to Cal State Los Angeles on Saturday night by six points after a dry run in the second half, where the women’s team snapped Cal State LA’s winning streak with a seven point margin victory.
While the men’s team seem to be on the road to the post-season, the women’s team will need a quick recovery if they hope to advance.