Box Score
Box score

HAYWARD, Calif. - Though the Cal State East Bay women's basketball team matched defending CCAA champ Cal State Monterey Bay point-for-point in the first half and posted similar numbers on the stat sheet, a second-half push from the Otters gave them a 68-56 victory at Pioneer Gym on Friday night. The Pioneers (4-7, 1-4 CCAA) held first-place Monterey Bay under their season scoring average, while hitting nearly 47 percent of their shots from the field on the night, but could not hold off the Otters, who shot 38 percent from three-point range and went 13-for-16 from the charity stripe down the stretch.

Junior Lauren Lucchesi led the Pioneers with a career-high 19 points, going 7-for-9 from the field, with a pair of threes. Lucchesi bested her previous career-high by four points, set a new single game high for the Pioneers this season and posted the second-highest shooting percentage by an individual this year for East Bay. Sophomore Sarah Finlay joined Lucchesi in double figures, scoring 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting off the bench for the Pioneers.

Marlene MacMillan guided Cal State East Bay's rebounding efforts, pulling down seven boards and adding eight points on the night. Lucchesi also helped out on the glass, with five rebounds of her own, while Brianna Terrance came off the bench to add five rebounds, including three on the offensive end, and score seven points for the Pioneers.

“If we could get everyone to play to their best ability night in and night out we could compete well in the CCAA,” Barcomb said. “We just cannot afford to have one of our scorers have an off-night. I thought it was Lu's best game of the year so far. Mac was consistent as always and Sarah came off the bench and shot the ball well.”

As a team, East Bay posted its second-highest shooting percentage of the season, hitting 46.9 percent of its shots from the field, including an impressive 13-for-21 performance from the floor in the first half. East Bay was out-rebounded by just five against the second-best rebounding team in the CCAA. The Pioneers held the Otters seven boards below their season average and grabbed 10 offensive rebounds on the night.

“We played a great first half,” Barcomb said. “We ran good offensive sets, we were composed, we played hard on both ends of the floor. It was our best effort on the floor since our trip to the state of Washington in preseason.”

Brittani Jefferson came off the bench to score 22 points to lead the Otters and all players, while Erika Ward also reached double digits in scoring with 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting from three-point range. Jefferson posted a double-double for Monterey Bay, leading the team with 10 boards. The Otters Shot 42.3 percent on the night, but bested the Pioneers from three-point range, going 7-for-18 from long range while holding East Bay to just two buckets from long range. Monterey Bay was also better at the free-throw line, where it shot 77.3 percent, scoring 13 of its 38 second-half points at the charity stripe.

“We didn't have an answer for their inside game,” Barcomb said. “Too many easy baskets for Jefferson all night long.”

East Bay opened the game with a pair of steals, three jumpers and a free throw, to take an early 7-3 advantage. The Pioneers held onto the lead, 9-7, with 15 minutes to play before the Otters took hold of the lead with a 14-5 run. A three from Ward sparked the run that spanned five minutes and put Monterey Bay up 21-14 with 10:34 remaining. From there, Terrance emerged off the bench, scoring six points and adding a pair of rebounds over the next seven minutes to help pull the Pioneers back within one point, 27-26. Though the Otters regained a three-point lead, East Bay answered with three of the last four points of the half to send the game into the half tied at 30.

The Otters came out with the hot hand in the second half, building an early seven-point lead thanks to four points from Stefanie Corgel at the free-throw line. East Bay pulled back, though, thanks to a jumper and a three from Lucchesi, which pulled the Pioneers ahead, 45-44, with 9:44 to play. From there, however, the Otters charged forward, scoring five straight points to regain a six-point advantage, a lead which they would not relinquish. Though the Pioneers closed the gap to four, they would never get any closer as Cal State Monterey Bay finished the game with a 15-7 run before Lucchesi finished scoring to cut the lead back to  12 at the end.

Cal State East Bay will get back into the thick of the CCAA season in the new year, when it hits the road for the first time during the league campaign. The Pioneers will head to Cal Poly Pomona on Jan. 5 before coming back to the Bay Area for the first installment of the Battle of the Bay on Jan. 7 at San Francisco State.