Chico State Athletics

Former Big 5 MVP Jadence Clifton appears determined to close out her college career with a bang and is building momentum ahead of next week’s playoff opener.

Clifton enjoyed arguably the biggest week of her collegiate career last week, leading Chico State to a pair of big road wins.

The Wildcats defeated Cal State LA 73-70 and CCAA leaders Cal State Dominguez Hills 75-71.

And the senior guard played a key role in each win, earning FloCollege/CCAA Player of the Week honors for the week in the process.

The loss was the first of the season for the Dominguez Hills women, who are the No. 5 ranked team in the nation.

Clifton, who graduated from Del Norte in 2021, scored a season-high 21 points against LA on Thursday, including hitting three 3-pointers, and she was 8-for-8 at the free-throw line.

She scored seven of her points in the fourth quarter with the game on the line.

Clifton was arguably even more impressive at Dominguez Hills two days later.

According to the Chico State website, the senior standout “hit two of the biggest 3-pointers in her collegiate career thus far, the first at the 1:18 mark and the other with 47.3 seconds left, to put the Wildcats ahead.”

She finished the night with 16 points, including four 3s and averaged 18.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists over the two games.

The Crescent City native has started all 26 games for the Wildcats this winter and is averaging 10 points and 4.8 rebounds a game.

She also has 39 3-pointers on the season, second best on the team, and is shooting an impressive 42 percent from downtown.

The Chico women, who are 15-5 in conference and 20-6 overall, sit third in the CCAA standings and are guaranteed to advance to next week’s conference tournament.

Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Clifton during her Del Norte playing days.