Box Score
Box Score

HAYWARD, Calif. – An outstanding performance on all fronts gave the Cal State East Bay women's basketball team its first victory of the season, a 65-55 win over Cal State LA on Saturday night at Pioneer Gym. The Pioneers (1-13, 1-9 CCAA) had four players in double figures and had their best shooting game of the conference season, hitting at a 42 percent clip.

"It's great to finally get that first win," CSUEB Head Coach Suzy Barcomb said. "We carried out a solid defensive game plan well and had four in double digits. This was a total team effort."

Freshman guard Sarah Finlay led East Bay with a season-high 16 points and added a season-best seven boards. Making her third start of the season, senior guard Kristina Lin scored a season-high 14 points, while sophomore forward Marlene MacMillan posted her third double-double in four games with 12 points and 12 rebounds, which led the team. Senior forward Azizi Dotson joined Finlay, MacMillan and Lin in double figures with a career-high 11 points.

"Kristina had a great game," Barcomb said. "She did all the little things to make us successful."

The Pioneers finished with a 41-27 advantage on the glass, scoring 15 points off 16 offensive rebounds. East Bay also had its best three-point shooting game of the season, knocking down 42.9 percent of its shots from beyond the arc, led by Finlay's 3-for-5 performance from long range. The Pioneers added seven steals, forced 20 turnovers and dished out 12 assists, their second highest total of the season.

"We did outstanding work on the boards tonight," Barcomb said.

The Golden Eagles (6-8, 3-7) were led by Lacy Ramon's 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field, including four three-pointers. A trio of Cal State LA players joined Ramon in double figures with Gretchen Tiernan, Shatori Dearman and Erika Ruiz posting 10 points apiece. Ramon and Tiernan each pulled down six boards to lead the team on the boards. The Golden Eagles shot 41.2 percent from the field and went 9-for-26 from three-point range while committing 20 turnovers.

East Bay opened the game with an 8-3 lead thanks to two Finlay threes and a pair of defensive stops. The Golden Eagles answered with two buckets from long range as well, but the Pioneers dropped in another layup followed by three free throws from Maria Dinesen and a trey from Lin to take a 16-8 lead with 14:11 left in the half.

After the Pioneers took a 20-16 lead, the two teams cooled off, going scoreless for nearly three minutes before an LA bucket ended the drought to cut the lead to 20-18 with 5:55 remaining. East Bay followed with back-to-back buckets that gave it a six-point advantage, 24-18, but the Golden Eagles answered with a three to close the gap back to just three. The two squads traded basket over the final five minutes before Ramon closed the half with a bucket from just inside half court to cut the Pioneer lead to 30-26 at the half.

East Bay came out on fire in the first half, shooting 83.3 percent in the first six minutes and finished the half shooting 42.3 percent, including a 3-for-7 performance from three-point range. The Pioneers also converted five of their seven free-throw shots and out-rebounded the Golden Eagles 19-11, scoring nine points off nine offensive boards. Cal State LA also shot well, going 10-for-24 from the floor and shooting 33.3 percent from three-point range. Both teams committed 10 turnovers, with the Golden Eagles posting five steals.

The Pioneers went on a 5-2 run to open the second half and gain a 35-28 advantage before the Golden Eagles responded with a full-court press that resulted in a pair of East Bay turnovers on the inbounds and two straight threes from Ruiz to cut the Pioneer lead to just one, 35-34, with 16:19 to play. After a timeout, the Pioneers bounced back to score back-to-back buckets to open a 40-34 lead.

East Bay continued to convert on the offensive end, going on a 10-2 run that gave the Pioneers a 45-36 advantage with 10:18 to play. The run spanned six minutes and saw East Bay force four turnovers and Finlay score seven of the 10 points. A free throw from Karmen Gunn ended the run and cut the lead to eight, 45-37, with 10:05 left. The Pioneers opened up a 52-40 lead, their largest of the game, before the Golden Eagles scored eight straight to cut the lead back to four, 52-49, with 3:20 to play.

MacMillan ended the scoring drought for East Bay with an offensive rebound and layup at the 2:28 mark, but the Golden Eagles answered with a bucket to make it 54-51 with 2:17 to play. The Pioneers responded, shutting down LA on defense and scoring six straight to regain a nine-point lead with just over a minute remaining. Three free throws from LIN put East Bay up 63-52 with under a minute left. Ramon's three with 31 seconds left cut the lead back to eight, 64-55, but free throws from Dotson and Finlay sealed the 66-55 victory.

The victory ends a 14-game losing streak for East Bay that dates back to the last game of the 2009-10 season and marks the first win under Barcomb since her arrival in Hayward this summer.

Cal State East Bay continues its four-game homestand next week when it plays host to Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino. The Pioneers and Broncos will meet on Jan. 20, when Chipotle's Race to 1K is on. If attendance reaches 1,000, all fans will receive a free Chipotle burrito. The game will also feature several Bay Area professional team mascots, including Lou Seal from the San Francisco Giants and Stomper from the Oakland A's.