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HAYWARD, Calif. - For the first time this season, the Cal State East Bay women's basketball team treated the home crowd to a victory, picking up a 62-50 victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills on Sunday afternoon. The victory was the first during conference play for the Pioneers (4-5, 1-2 CCAA), who shot 45 percent from the field and held the advantage on the boards and at the free-throw line in a well-rounded win that saw three players score in double figures for East Bay.

“It was good to have three players in double-digits in scoring today,” Head Coach Suzy Barcomb said. “The CCAA is all about playing 40 minutes of basketball – hard, competitive and intense basketball. We are trying to learn from our mistakes and grow as quickly as possible with our young team.” 

Freshman Micah Walker led the trio in double digits for Cal State East Bay, sharing the game high with 16 points and adding three assists to lead all players. Fellow rookie Hege Blikra had her best game so far, scoring 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field. Blikra also pulled down four rebounds and went 2-for-2 from three-point range. Lauren Lucchesi joined the pair in double figures with 10 points and was second on the team with six rebounds.

Junior Marlene MacMillan helped the Pioneers out-rebound the Toros, 28-26, with a game-high seven rebounds and added nine points on 4-for-7 shooting from the floor. Cassie Coble was also key on the glass, posting five boards, including three offensive rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench. Defensively, East Bay forced 21 Dominguez Hills turnovers, with Carly Bettencourt and Nia Bravo combining for five steals.

“Hege played an outstanding all-around game, along with Nia who provided us with a great spark on the defensive end of the floor,” Barcomb said. “Nia has brought a great voice to the floor in as a starter. Micah is slowly finding her way on the offensive end of the floor and has hit some big shots for us all season and today hit some very key baskets.” 

Both teams shot well, with the Pioneers holding a slight advantage, going 22-for-48 from the field, while the Toros knocked down 43.2 percent of their shots. East Bay drained six threes in the game and shot better than 70 percent from the free-throw line for the second straight game. On the other end, Cal State Dominguez Hills made just two threes and went 10-for-16 from the charity stripe while forcing 14 East Bay turnovers.

Porcha Davis scored 16 points off the bench to lead the Toros, going 5-for-8 from the field. Sherrie Hughes led the Dominguez Hills rebounding efforts with six boards, getting help from Ashley Hudson and Zipporah Brown, who added five boards apiece.

The Pioneers opened the game with a quick nine points, getting out to a five-point lead thanks to eight points from Walker and Blikra in the first five minutes. Cal State Dominguez Hills answered with an 18-7 run over the next eight minutes, taking a 22-16 advantage thanks to seven points from Hudson and four from Davis. East Bay was unfazed, however, regaining its composure and finishing off the half with a 16-4 run of its own, sparked by a three from Bravo. During the run, the Pioneers hit a pair of three pointers and four shots from the foul line, closing out the first half with a 32-26 lead.

Though they trailed at the break, the Toros had the hot hand in the first half, hitting 52.2 percent of their shots from the field. Cal State Dominguez Hills struggled to hold onto the ball, however, committing 10 turnovers in the half. East Bay went 11-for-27 from the floor and had just four turnovers while notching five steals.

The first seven minutes of the second half were crucial for the Pioneers, who opened up a 16-point lead, their largest of the game to that point. East Bay opened the half with back-to-back threes from Walker and Blikra, while the Toros went scoreless for five minutes. A Davis three ended the scoring drought for Cal State Dominguez Hills and kicked off a 10-2 run for the Toros, who cut the lead to eight, 44-36, with 11:30 remaining. The Pioneers answered, regaining a 10-point lead on a layup from Walker, before four straight points from Dominguez Hills shrank the advantage to just six for the first time since the half.

Leading by six with 9:10 left, East Bay took back a 10-point lead and then traded free throws with the Toros to take an eight-point lead, 50-42, at the 6:35 mark. A Blikra jumper sparked a 10-2 run that would seal the victory for the Pioneers, who took a 16-point lead, 60-44, with 3:17 left to play and held on to pick up the 12-point win.

The second half saw East Bay shoot better than 50 percent from the field, led by Blikra's 3-for-3 performance from the floor. The Pioneers held the rebounding advantage but doubled their number of turnovers, committing 10 in the second frame. East Bay also found success at the free-throw line, where it went 6-for-7 down the stretch.

“We shot better from the free throw line in the second half and were able to convert,” Barcomb said.

Cal State East Bay will look to continue its success tomorrow, when it takes on Cal State LA. The Golden Eagles (4-4, 2-2 CCAA) are coming off a 71-60 loss at Cal State Monterey Bay on Sunday. The Pioneers and Golden Eagles are set for a 1 p.m. tip at Pioneer Gym on Monday. The game is also Faculty & Staff Appreciation Day, with free hot dogs, chips and sodas available to CSUEB faculty and staff with ID.

“No rest in this league, we have to be ready to compete against a very talented team tomorrow,” Barcomb said.