Box Score
Box score

HAYWARD, Calif. – A sluggish second half from the Cal State East Bay women's basketball team led to a 66-44 defeat at the hands of Humboldt State on Saturday night at Pioneer Gym. Despite entering the half tied at 20, the Pioneers (2-4, 0-2 CCAA) dropped their second straight after the Jacks shot a blistering 65 percent in the second frame.

“We went with a completely different line-up tonight to try and shake things up for us both offensively and defensively,” Head Coach Suzy Barcomb said. “We are really struggling to find any flow on the offensive end. Until we find consistent production we will have to rely upon of defense, which puts so much pressure on us to play perfectly.”

Sophomore Cassie Coble scored a season-high 13 points to lead Cal State East Bay, going 3-for-6 from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. Hege Blikra and Marlene MacMillan added six points apiece, with MacMillan also leading the East Bay rebounding efforts with seven boards. Freshman Micah Walker also helped out on the glass, notching six rebounds, while fellow rookie Carly Bettencourt chipped in with five points for East Bay.

“I thought we played a very solid first half on the defensive end of the floor,” Barcomb said. “We battled, communicated well and got on the glass. Mac and Micah were very aggressive on the boards tonight.”

The Pioneers recovered from a poor shooting night on Friday, knocking down 36.2 percent of their shots on the night. East Bay also nearly matched the Jacks on the boards, pulling down 24 to Humboldt's 25. At the free-throw line and beyond the arc, the Pioneers' struggles continued as they went just 2-for-16 from three-point range and shot 66.7 percent in 12 trips to the charity stripe.

Humboldt State had four players reach double figures in scoring, led by Lisa Petty's game-high 16 points. Petty also added eight rebounds to lead the Jacks on the boards. Lexxi Price came off the bench for Humboldt to score 15 points and notch six rebounds, going 5-for-10 from the field, including a perfect 4-for-4 from long range. Overall, the Jacks shot 52.4 percent from the field and knocked down 13 of their 15 free throws and hit nine three-pointers.

For the second straight night, both teams got off to a slow start, combining for just 16 points through the first 11 minutes. Tied 8-8, the Jacks took a two point lead on a pair of free throws from Bree Halsey before Cassie Coble's jumper from the top of the key pulled the Pioneers even at 10. The two teams exchanged three-pointers before Humboldt's Lexxi Price knocked down another shot from long range to give the Jacks their largest lead of the half at 16-13 with 4:32 remaining.

The Pioneers bounced back, however, scoring five straight points on a MacMillan jumper and a pair of free throws from Coble to take an 18-16 lead with just under two minutes left to play. Humboldt State regained the lead with back-to-back jumpers before a bucket from Lucchesi with under 30 seconds left tied the game at 20, which is where the two teams stood when they headed to the half.

Both teams shot well once they got going in the first frame, with the Jacks going 7-for-19 from the floor and the Pioneers knocking down 33.3 percent of their shots from the field. The two teams combined for just three baskets from long range, with East Bay going just 1-of-8 from downtown. Lisa Petty led all players in the first frame with seven points, while Coble paced the Pioneers with six points. East Bay out-rebounded the Jacks in the first half, led by MacMillan's six and Micah Walker's four. Price paced HSU on the glass, pulling down five rebounds in the first frame.

Humboldt State came out of the half re-energized, opening the second frame on a 10-2 run, thanks in part to inspired play by Lisa Petty, who scored six of those 10 points and added four rebounds and a steal during that run. The Pioneers closed the lead to six twice before Price took over, hitting a three and completing the three-point play on an and-one opportunity to put the Jacks up 12, 38-26, with 13 minutes to play. Humboldt pushed the lead to as many as 14 before East Bay closed the gap to 10 on a Carly Bettencourt jumper with 10:09 left.

Sensing the comeback brewing from the Pioneers, the Jacks got organized and put together an 18-4 run over the next six minutes that included six East Bay turnovers. Trailing 61-37 with 5:41 to play, the Pioneers finally stopped the bleeding with a three from Coble to pull within 21. The Jacks were unyielding, however, maintaining at least a 21-point advantage for the remainder of the game to capture the 66-44 victory.

Petty led Humboldt State in the second half, scoring nine points and adding five boards to help the Jacks pick up the victory. The Jacks finished the second frame with just eight misses in 23 attempts from the field, including seven baskets from beyond the arc. Though the Pioneers hit 39.1 percent of their shots from the field in the final 20 minutes, the Jacks were six baskets better and went 9-for-11 from the charity stripe down the stretch.

“We lost Humboldt's three-ball shooters in the second half for four big threes and we couldn't overcome those mistakes,” Barcomb said. “We held them in-check the first half but they are a very good shooting team and have experienced players and that was evident in the second half.”

Cal State East Bay will take a break from competition for finals week before returning to take on a pair of non-conference opponents, beginning with Menlo College on Dec. 11. The Pioneers and Oaks are set for a 3 p.m. tip at Haynes-Prim Pavilion in Atherton.