Box Score
Box score

HAYWARD, Calif. – The Cal State East Bay women's basketball team ran out of time in one of its closest games of the season, a 49-42 loss to Cal State Dominguez Hills on Thursday night at Pioneer Gym. The Pioneers (0-13, 0-9 CCAA) never trailed by more than 14, out-rebounded the Toros 48-34 and committed just 10 turnovers in the loss.

Cal State East Bay sophomore forward Marlene MacMillan posted her second double-double of the season, leading the Pioneers with 14 points and 16 rebounds and shooting 5-for-9 from the field and 4-for-5 from the free-throw line. Sarah Finlay joined MacMillan in double figures, adding 12 points and a pair of assists. As a team, the Pioneers shot just 26.8 percent from the field and 43.5 percent from the charity stripe where they missed out on 13 points. The 10 turnovers, however, were the fewest of the year for East Bay, while its 48 boards were a season high.

Nikki Boutte' led the Toros with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting and accounted for four of their six three pointers. Ashley Hudson added 10 for Dominguez Hills, while Sherrie Hughes led the CSUDH rebounding efforts with seven boards. The Toros shot 34.8 percent in the game, going 6-for15 from three-point range while committing 15 turnovers.

East Bay jumped out to an early 3-0 lead before the Toros went on a 16-4 run to open a 16-7 lead with seven minutes remaining in the half. Sarah Finlay finally broke through with a bucket at 6:42 to close the CSUDH lead to 16-9 after the Pioneers hit just three buckets in the opening 13 minutes of the half.

The Toros led 18-9 with 4:50 remaining, however, the Pioneers came out of the media timeout to score seven straight points and post three straight defensive stops to pull within two points, 18-16 with a minute to go in the half. Cal State Dominguez Hills ended a six-minute scoring drought with a pair of free throws to take a four-point lead in the final minute and took advantage of the last possession with a three from Boutte to take a 23-16 lead into the break.

Cal State East Bay shot just 21.4 percent from the field in the first frame and lost five points at the free throw line, where they went 2-for-7. On the other end, the Toros shot 37.5 percent from the floor, including a 3-of-9 performance from outside the arc. East Bay held the 22-20 advantage on the glass, pulling down eight offensive boards to the Toros' three, while committing just three turnovers and forcing seven.

Both teams were slow to get going in the second frame, combining for just 15 points through the first 10 minutes of the half. East Bay went 2-for-7 from the field to start the half, while the Toros shot just 18.2 percent from the floor but went 4-for-6 from the charity stripe to maintain a 32-22 lead with 9:52 left in the half.

Dominguez Hills took its largest lead of the game, 38-24, on a three-pointer from Krissi Sylvis 7:16 remaining, but the Pioneers answered immediately with a layup from Lauren Lucchesi to cut the lead back to 12. After getting a defensive stop, a Finlay bucket brought East Bay back within 10. Boutte' answered for the Toros with five points in less than a minute to put CSUDH up 43-32.

The two teams traded buckets until the Pioneers got three straight stops that led to four points and cut the Toro lead to nine, 47-38, with 1:11 remaining in the second half. After back-to-back misses for the Toros and a layup from MacMillan, the Pioneers trailed 47-40 with 23 seconds remaining, inbounding the ball. East Bay could not convert on two shots off the inbounds, giving Boutte' another chance at the line, where she hit both to put the game out of reach, 49-40. Finlay's last-ditch jumper closed out the game.

Cal State East Bay returns to action on Saturday for the second of four straight home games, hosting Cal State LA. The Pioneers and Golden Eagles are set for a 5:30 p.m. start at Pioneer Gym, where the new and improved Pioneer Pete will debut his makeover. Cal State LA (6-7, 3-6) dropped a 69-65 decision at UC San Diego on Thursday night.