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HAYWARD, Calif. – The Cal State East Bay women's basketball team struggled to find its shooting touch on Thursday night, as it fell to Cal Poly Pomona, 59-41, at Pioneer Gym. Freshman Sarah Finlay hit double figures in scoring for the fifth straight game for the Pioneers (1-14, 1-10 CCAA), but they could not stop the Broncos' from outside in the loss.

"We didn't bring the emotional energy necessary to compete with one of the top programs in the CCAA," Pioneer Head Coach Suzy Barcomb said. "We must do all the little things correctly in order to keep ourselves in every game."

Finlay led East Bay with 10 points, scoring six of those from the free-throw line. Sophomore forward Marlene MacMillan led the Pioneers' rebounding efforts with 11 boards, marking her eighth game this season in which she's reached double digits in rebounds. MacMillan also posted a pair of blocks and two steals for East Bay. Freshman Maria Dinesen added nine points for the Pioneers, hitting their lone three-point attempt of the night.

Playing without leading scorer Reyana Colson, the Broncos were led by Sarah Semenero and Megan Ford, who contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively. Semenero went 3-for-5 from long range, while Ford paced Pomona on the boards, pulling down nine rebounds.

Both teams got out to a slow start in the first half, combining for just 20 points through the first nine minutes. The Pioneers scored all of their first six points at the free-throw line, while Cal Poly Pomona shot just 25 percent from the field early, but went 4-for-5 from beyond the arc to open a 14-6 lead with 10:59 remaining. Finlay finally ended a near 10-minute scoring drought from the field with a jumper with 10:30 left to cut the lead to 14-8. Cal Poly responded by forcing a pair of turnovers and scoring six straight points to take a 20-8 lead.

Cal State East Bay put together a 9-3 run over the next four minutes, closing the Bronco lead down to 23-17 and forcing a pair of Pomona turnovers during that span. Cal Poly Pomona, however, responded with a pair of buckets, including a three from La'kenya Simon West, to take a 28-18 lead. A slew of turnovers for both teams ensued over the final two minutes of the half, as the Pioneers held the Broncos scoreless and closed the lead to eight points, heading to the break trailing 28-20.

The Pioneers finished the half shooting just 27.3 percent from the field, while the Broncos went 10-for-30 from the floor, hitting 41.7 percent of their three-point shots. Cal State East Bay went to the free-throw line 11 times, converting on seven trips. The two teams combined for 23 turnovers in the half, with East Bay notching five steals and two blocks on the defensive end.

East Bay again started off slow, scoring their first four points from the free-throw line, while Cal Poly Pomona built a 16-point lead, 40-24, behind five points from J.J. Judge and four points from Ford in the first six minutes of the half. The Pioneers scored their first points from the field on a jumper from Dinesen with 13:21 remaining to cut the Bronco advantage to 16, 42-26. Pomona answered, however, with a 6-2 run to gain its first 20-point lead of the game, 48-28, with 11:15 left.

"If we could have hit an one of our early easy baskets it might have given us a much needed spark," Barcomb said. "We mentally were not invested in the game tonight."

Though the Pioneers matched the Broncos bucket-for-bucket over the final 11 minutes, scoring 13 points to Pomona's 11, they could not get the stops they needed to overcome a 22-point deficit in the second half. A jumper from MacMillan with two minutes left cut the lead back to 20 points but the final buzzer ended any East Bay comeback efforts.

Cal State East Bay finished the game shooting just 27.7 percent from the field, hitting only 13 field goals. Despite shooting as high as 73 percent from the free-throw line midway through the half, the Pioneers could not convert late, finishing 15-of-26 from the charity stripe. On the other end, the Broncos shot 38.5 percent from the field, including an 8-for-19 performance from beyond the arc. Pomona out-rebounded the Pioneers, 45-35, and took advantage of 23 Pioneer turnovers, scoring 29 points off of those miscues.

East Bay will close out its four-game homestand on Saturday, when it plays host to Cal State San Bernardino, which edged UC San Diego, 60-58 on Thursday night. The Pioneers and Coyotes (12-2, 8-2 CCAA) are set for a 5:30 p.m. tip in Pioneer Gym.

"We are going to try and find the right combination out on the floor to help us become more competitive night in and night out," Barcomb said.