CHICAGO—Five CSU Bakersfield players scored in double figures as the Roadrunners raced past Chicago State 83-57 for CSUB's (19-7, 8-3 WAC) fourth consecutive victory Thursday. The Roadrunners have now won seven of their past eight games.

“We came out from the start aggressive and played very well,” said CSUB head coach Greg McCall.

CSU Bakersfield forwards Brittany Sims (So., Fresno, Calif., Edison HS) and Batabe Zempare (Jr., Accra, Ghana, Scottsdale Chapparal HS) each scored 14 points to pace the 'Runners. Zempare added a game high 11 rebounds for her 11th double-double of the season. Sims went 7-of-9 from the floor.

Tyonna Outland (R-Sr., Compton, Calif., Lynwood HS) inched closer to the 2,000 career-point plateau with 13. Outland, the all-time leading scorer at CSUB, has scored 1,937 points her career. Erika Williams (R-So., Fresno, Calif., Diamond Ranch HS) tallied 12 points while Alyssa Shannon (Jr., Bakersfield, Calif., Stockdale HS) had 10. Brooklynn Hinkens (Sr., Lake Tapps, Wash., Auburn-Riverside HS) reset her career high with seven assists and did not commit a turnover.

For the third consecutive game CSUB scored the first basket and did not trail in the contest. The Roadrunners shot 59.4% (19-of-32) in the first half while holding the Cougars to 31.2% (10-of-32) from the floor. CSUB would outshoot Chicago State 55.4% (36-of-65) to 37.5% (21-of-56) for the game.  The Roadrunners outscored the Cougars 46-26 in the paint and turned 27 Chicago State turnovers into 29 points. The CSUB bench held a 38-6 scoring advantage of their Cougar counterparts.

Chicago State (4-20, 1-9 WAC) was led by Paris Williams who scored a game high 20 points. Sarah Amalou added 12. The Cougars outrebounded the Roadrunners 37-36, 13-8 on the offensive glass.

“We played our style and we want to continue to get better defensively,” McCall said. “I thought Brittany and Erika had really good games. This will help us get ready for Saturday.”

CSUB travels to Missouri-Kansas City (6-19, 4-6 WAC) for the final Roadrunner conference game of the season Saturday. Tip is set for 2:05 p.m. (CST). CSU Bakersfield sits alone in second place in the WAC after Texas-Pan American (15-12, 7-4 WAC) lost at Grand Canyon Thursday night. NM State (17-7, 10-1 WAC) kept a two-game lead over the Roadrunners in league play with a 57-52 victory over Utah Valley Thursday.

The 'Runners return home Feb. 28 when CSUB hosts Seattle U at 1 p.m. The Feb. 28 game is National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) on the CSUB campus. Tickets are available at vallitix.com.

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