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SAN RAFAEL, Calif. - The Cal State East Bay women's basketball team trailed just once in a commanding 59-38 victory over Dominican on Saturday night at the Conlan Center. The Pioneers (1-1) closed out the CCAA/PacWest Challenge with their first win of the season, bouncing back from an eight-point loss on Friday. 

“I wasn't sure how we would respond to adversity,” Head Coach Suzy Barcomb said. “But we responded well and displayed some inspired team play. We were very aggressive on the offensive end and earned several trips to the line. We didn't shoot particularly well but I liked our intensity.”

Freshman Carly Bettencourt made the most of her first start in the red and black, sharing the team lead with junior Lauren Lucchesi with 12 points. Bettencourt shot 5-for-12 from the field, adding a pair of threes and six rebounds on the night. Lucchesi went 3-for-4 from the free-throw line and matched Bettencourt on the boards with six rebounds of her own.

“I thought Carly played a great game in her first start,” Barcomb said.

After the Pioneers were out-rebounded on Friday, they turned things around and got after it on the glass, where they held a 53-51 advantage over Dominican. Cassie Coble and Marlene MacMillan led the team with eight rebounds apiece, with MacMillan notching five offensive boards for East Bay. The pair also added six points apiece and combined for 10 steals and helped force 27 Penguin turnovers.

“Mac and Cassie were solid on the glass and we committed to playing defense and played together very well,” Barcomb said.

Though the Pioneers only shot 28.8 percent, they also held Dominican to 22 percent shooting. East Bay shot 37.5 percent from three-point range, despite going cold from long range in the second half. Kayla Valentine led DU with 15 points, while Jasmine Greene paced the Penguins with seven boards.

A jumper from Valentine opened the game and marked the only time the Penguins would lead. The Pioneers answered right back with a three from Lucchesi that jump-started an 11-2 run that included seven Dominican turnovers and put East Bay up by seven. Though the Penguins closed the gap to four twice, the Pioneers held onto the lead, building a 12-point advantage, 26-14, with 6:23 to play in the half. East Bay held onto the lead, fighting off several Penguin runs to take a 34-23 lead into the half.

Cal State East Bay did not back off to start the second half, going on a 14-1 run to build a 24-point advantage midway through the half. A free-throw shot from the Penguins with 18 minutes to play cut the East Bay lead to one before the Pioneers held DU without a basket for nearly 10 minutes. East Bay forced four turnovers and pulled down 23 rebounds during the span, including 14 offensive boards. Leading 48-24, the Pioneers never allowed Dominican to come closer than 21 for the remainder of the game.

Cal State East Bay will look to continue its success next weekend when it returns to action at the SPU/Sodexo Tip-Off Classic in Seattle. The Pioneers will meet the host Falcons and Central Washington, a 2011 NCAA Tournament team, next Friday and Saturday, respectively.