Box Score
Box score

HAYWARD, Calif. – The Cal State East Bay women's basketball team made a strong comeback attempt but could not overcome two big runs by Cal State San Bernardino in a 71-48 loss on Saturday night. The Pioneers (1-15, 1-11 CCAA) never led in a game that saw the Coyotes (13-2, 9-2) score 18 unanswered points to start the first half, but closed the lead to as few as seven points in the loss.

"We competed in spurts and that is not the level necessary in order to be successful in the CCAA," CSUEB Head Coach Suzy Barccomb said. We missed too many easy baskets. We must learn to raise our level of competition in our practice so that we can be better prepared to be successful during the games."

Sophomore forward Lauren Lucchesi came off the bench to lead East Bay with 15 points on 3-for-6 shooting from three-point range. Freshman forward Brianna Terrance added another 10 points and five rebounds off the bench, while Marlene MacMillan led the Pioneers with six rebounds. The Pioneers finished shooting 32.1 percent from the field and committed just 13 turnovers, while forcing 10 and posting five steals.

"I thought Lu had a tremendous first half and provided an outstanding spark for our team," Barcomb. "We were stagnant and she created energy out on the floor which got us going offensively. Bri did exactly what the coaching staff asked. She competed, hit the boards and worked hard on both ends of the floor."

Sabrina Gonzalez and Eisha Sheppard paced the Coyotes, scoring 16 points apiece and combining to shoot an impressive 54.1 percent from the field. Gonzalez also went 4-for-6 from three-point range, while Sheppard added a game-high five assists. Angela Streets helped Cal State San Bernardino out-rebound the Pioneers 37-30 with a team-leading five boards and Amber Glasser added nine points for the Coyotes, who shot 49.1 percent from the floor and went 6-for-14 from long range on the night.

The Coyotes opened an early 18-point lead in the first half, holding the Pioneers without a bucket for the opening 8:04 and hitting three shots from outside the arc during that span. East Bay finally got on the board at the 11:56 mark with a second-chance layup from Terrance, who came in off the bench just a minute earlier. The Pioneers quickly added another seven points, all coming from Lucchesi, to cut the San Bernardino lead to 21-9 with 9:51 left in the half.

A pair of free throws from Kristina Lin with just over seven minutes left cut the lead to 10 for the first time since the 16:21 mark. After trading buckets, the Pioneers cut the lead to eight, 27-19, with a three from Lucchesi at the 2:42 mark, but an East Bay foul gave GLASSER two chances from the free-throw line where she converted to give the Coyotes back a 10-point with just under two minutes remaining in the half. After a lay-in from Cassie Coble in transition with under a minute left, San Bernardino ended the half with a pair of free throws to take a 31-21 lead into the break.

The Pioneers finished the half shooting 26.7 percent from the field, while the Coyotes went 11-for-24 from the floor, knocking down 50 percent of their three-point shots in the first frame. Gonzalez paced all players in the first half, posting 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field with four threes. Lucchesi led the Pioneers with 12 first-half points, shooting 50 percent from the floor and hitting a pair of long-range shots.

Cut the lead to eight three times early in the half, getting six points from a Terrance and Nia Bravo off the bench to make it 40-32 with 14:46 to go. The Coyotes regained a 10-point advantage before Lucchesi's three from Lin made it a seven-point game, 42-35, with just over 12 to play.

San Bernardino regained its shooting touch, however, scoring 12 unanswered points to take a 54-35 lead at the 10:34 mark. The scoring streak opened a 21-5 run for the Coyotes, getting eight points from Sheppard during the six-minute span that gave them a 63-40 lead with 6:30 remaining. The Pioneers answered by holding CSUSB scoreless for the next four minutes, forcing three turnovers and scoring four straight points to cut the lead to 19. The Coyotes, however, went on an 8-4 run to finish the game and seal the win.

Cal State East Bay hits the road next weekend for a two-game trip to Humboldt State and Sonoma State. The Pioneers and Jacks are set to kick off the second half of the season on Jan. 27 at 5:30 p.m. at Lumberjack Arena in Arcata.