California women rebounded nicely after last week’s lost to Stanford, taking down Chico State 34-10 to move into second place of the Pacific Mountain North Conference. Davis, which had previously held second place, slid into third after a massive 72-5 loss to Stanford Saturday.

Cal did a nice job of spreading its scores between the backs and forwards, and saw six Golden Bears dot down. Wings Brianna Ewing and Janae Henderson, fullback Nha Vu, scrumhalf Gina Feracota, flanker Jessica Lewis and lock Mariah Castro all scored tries, while prop Vickie Garcia handled the conversions (2).

“It is always a challenge to play Chico State,” Cal coach Ellen Owens said. “They are always ready to play, ready to capitalize on any mistakes you make on attack. They are strong runners with ball in hand, and put us under pressure when we are on defense.”

In general Owens was pleased with the team’s performance, but noted that the players, while they followed the game plan well, need to work on consistency and patience play.

“Whenever we had a penalty awarded against us,” Owen said, “we got flustered, which led to us committing several more penalties in a short period of time around the breakdown.”

Owens is confident that the team will get there, especially considering the fluidity displayed between the backs and forwards.

“The continuity is there,” Owens continued. “Players are supporting one another.  At this point in the season, we're still striving for consistency and to get more experience for our younger players.”

Cal has a difficult weekend coming, as they travel north for a double-header against Oregon and Oregon State. The Golden Bears are favored in both match-ups and will have to rely on their depth to secure both victories. The road isn’t going to get any easier for Chico, as the team readies for Stanford this Saturday.