Box Score Box score

ROHNERT PARK, Calif. – On the strength of 21 points from freshman guard Maria Dinesen and 13 rebounds from sophomore forward Marlene MacMillan, the Cal State East Bay women's basketball team earned its second victory of the season with a 67-46 win over Sonoma State on Saturday night. The Pioneers (2-16, 2-12 CCAA) held the Seawolves (6-12, 4-10) to just 25 percent shooting from the field, while forcing 17 turnovers and shooting nearly 40 percent from three-point range on the night.

"This was a team win tonight," CSUEB Head Coach Suzy Barcomb said. "Everyone contributed in some way tonight."

Dinesen had her best game of the season against the Seawolves, notching a career-high 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, including five threes. The Denmark native also tied her season-high with five rebounds and played 36 minutes for the Pioneers. MacMillan had an impressive all-around performance as well, pulling down 13 boards to mark her ninth game of the season with double-digit rebounds, scoring six points, dishing out a team-leading four assists, blocking a pair of shots and snagging five steals along the way. Meanwhile, sophomore forward Lauren Lucchesi added 13 points, five boards and a pair of steals and Azizi Dotson and Kristina Lin each contributed six points in the victory.

"Outstanding performance by Maria tonight," Barcomb said. "She carried us and played inspiring basketball."

The Pioneers finished shooting 40 percent from the field, including 8-for-21 shooting from three-point range. Though East Bay committed 15 turnovers, it also posted its second straight game with 10 or more steals and grabbed 41 rebounds. The Pioneers also converted from the free-throw line down the stretch, hitting 11 of its 14 shots from the charity stripe in the second half to finish shooting 71.4 percent from the line.

Jaclyn Bisordi paced the Seawolves with 18 points, while Aly Conway's 12 rebounds helped Sonoma State to out-rebound the Pioneers 43-41. SSU could not find its shooting touch, going 16-for-64 from the floor and finishing 10 points below its season average.

Cal State East Bay got out to an early eight-point lead in the first half, before Sonoma State stormed back with a 20-11 run that gave the Seawolves their first lead of the game, 27-26, with five minutes remaining in the first frame. The Pioneers ended the half with a 6-2 run, however, to take a 32-29 lead into the break.

The second frame saw Cal State East Bay's defense stepped up its game, forcing seven second-half turnovers, posting six steals and two blocks while shutting down the Sonoma State offense. The Seawolves scored just 17 points in the final 20 minutes, shooting just 15.8 percent from the field and going 1-for-15 from long range.

"We played some tremendous team defense in the second half," Barcomb said. "We stopped the deadly three-ball shooting for Sonoma."

The Pioneers never trailed in the second half, building a 10-point lead twice and finishing with a 16-2 run to seal the win. Leading 51-44 with 4:28 remaining, East Bay saw six players combine for the final 16 points of the game that included a 10-for-12 performance from the charity stripe down the stretch. During the run, the Seawolves missed 10 shots from the field, including six three-point shots.

Cal State East Bay returns to action next week, as it kicks off the final four-game homestand of the season. The Pioneers will meet first-place Cal State Monterey Bay in the first of two games during Homecoming Week, playing host to the Otters on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at Pioneer Gym.