Sunday, Dec. 11
at Menlo College (3-6)
Haynes-Prim Pavilion - Atherton
3 p.m.
Live Video

HAYWARD, Calif. – Following a week-long break from competition for finals, the Cal State East Bay women's basketball team will return to the court this weekend, when it travels across the Bay to take on Menlo College on Sunday at 3 p.m. The Pioneers (2-4, 0-2 CCAA) will look to get back on track after suffering a pair of losses to open the conference slate last weekend, kicking off a two-game break from CCAA play at Haynes-Prim Pavilion in Atherton on Sunday.

Though the Pioneers fell to Sonoma State and Humboldt State at home last weekend to kick off the league slate, they enter the matchup with the Oaks with a 2-2 record against non-conference opponents so far this season. East Bay picked up early wins over Central Washington and Dominican and is set to meet a Menlo team that has lost four of its last six games.

Despite the two losses last week, Cal State East Bay is among the top defensive teams in the CCAA, holding opponents to just 35.1 percent shooting from the field, ranking second in the league. The Pioneers also rank sixth in the conference in scoring defense, allowing an average of 57.8 points per game so far. East Bay is shooting 34.6 percent from the field itself, but has struggled from the free-throw line, hitting just 62.6 percent of its foul shots. On the glass, the Pioneers have fared well, nearly matching their opponents with an average of nearly 36 rebounds per contest.

Sophomore Sarah Finlay, freshman Micah Walker and junior Lauren Lucchesi make up a Pioneer trio of scorers averaging just over eight points per game, led by Finlay's 8.7 average, which ranks in the top 30 in the CCAA. Walker is also adding 3.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, while Lucchesi is by far East Bay's best free-throw shooter, knocking down 81 percent of her shots from the charity stripe.

Junior Marlene MacMillan is leading the Pioneer rebounding efforts, pulling down seven boards per game to tie for 10th in the conference. MacMillan is also the team's top shooter, ranking eighth in the league with her 48.6 percent accuracy from the field. Though the Pioneers are shooting only 30.7 percent from beyond the arc, Finlay and freshman Carly Bettencourt have combined to go 8-for-13 from three-point range so far, good for 61.5 percent shooting from downtown.

With six lower classmen on the squad, the team needed the youngsters to make an immediate impact and so far, they've done their part. Together, the freshmen and sophomores have scored 208 of the Pioneers' 310 total points, with the three freshmen – Walker, Bettencourt and Hege Blikra – making up nearly 30 percent of the scoring. The group of six has also been aggressive on the glass, combining for almost 19 rebounds per game and contributing 52 percent of East Bay's total rebounds so far. Their rebounding efforts are led by sophomore Brianna Terrance's 4.7 boards per game, which also rank second on the team behind MacMillan.

Oaks Overview
Menlo enters the weekend with a 3-6 overall record and are set to take on Concordia on Friday night. The Oaks are coming off a 73-49 blowout of Whittier at the UC Santa Cruz Tournament on Dec. 3. Menlo has dropped five of its last seven games, including a 60-44 defeat to Sonoma State last month. Since opening the season 1-5, though, the Oaks have gone 2-2 over the last four games, also picking up a 36-point win over Colorado's Johnson & Wales. Menlo is led by three players averaging double digits in scoring, paced by Laurel Donnenwirth's 11.8 points per game. Donnenwirth also leads the Oaks' rebounding efforts with 6.3 boards per game, while Jolise Limcaco and Jenna Marinaro are contributing 11.3 and 10.9 points per game, respectively. Erika Garcia is also contributing 9.9 points per game and leads the Oaks with 26 steals so far. Donnenwirth's 55.6 percent shooting from the field is the best among the Oaks, who are shooting 38.5 percent as a team. Like the Pioneers, Menlo has also had trouble at the free-throw line early one, shooting 61.6 percent from the charity stripe. Sunday's meeting will mark the first between the two teams since the Pioneers moved back to NCAA Division II. The last time the two squads met was in 2008-09, when the Oaks picked up a 67-54 victory over East Bay in Atherton.