Box Score HAYWARD, Calif. – A late second half comeback by the Pioneer women's basketball fell short in a 59-56 defeat to Academy of Art in the CCAA/Pac West Challenge at Pioneer Gym on Saturday night.

The defeat leaves the Pioneers with a 1-1 overall record. Academy of Art improves to 2-0 for the season.

For the second straight game, the Pioneers played outstanding defense. The Pioneers held the Urban Knights to a 26.1 shooting percentage from the floor on 18 of 69 attempts and 5 of 27 from the three point area. East Bay, which shot 71.9 percent from the free throw line on 23 of 32 attempts, outrebounded Academy of Art by a 50-40 margin. 

“All things considered, I felt as though our team really competed tonight against a very deep and talented Academy team,” Pioneer coach Suzy Barcomb said.  “We did what our team does best and that is defend and rebound by committee.  Our focus was to challenge the 3-point line and slow the tempo down.”

Micah Walker, playing her first game of the season, came off the bench to score 14 points and grab five rebounds. Tori Breshers also came off the bench to score 10 points. Cassie Coble and Lauren Lucchesi each scored nine points for East Bay. Rachel Finnegan led the Pioneers on the boards with 11 rebounds.

Trailing 56-48 with 2:24 remaining, the Pioneers staged a dramatic comeback. Walker hit a pair of free throws to cut the Urban Knights lead to 56-50 with 1:49 left. A layup by Walker with 1:14 remaining narrowed the score to 56-52.

Coble nailed a three-pointer with 49 seconds on the clock to make it a one-point game in favor of the Urban Knights. A free throw by Katy Wade with 21 seconds remaining gave Academy of Art a 57-55 lead. Walker was fouled with 12 seconds left, and converted one of two free throws. Jordan Rogers secured the hard-earned victory for the Urban Knights making two free throws with one second left in the game.

“We made a late run at Academy and I thought we had a really good chance to send the game into overtime or win, but it just didn't go our way,” Barcomb said.  

Academy of Art jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the early going. East Bay took advantage of the free throw line to trail 18-14 with 17:35 remaining.

The Pioneers' Candace Akaigbe hit a basket with 6:35 left to cut the Urban Knights lead to 18-16. An 11-3 run enabled Academy of Art to extend its lead to 29-19 with a minute remaining. The Pioneers went on a 4-2 run, including a basket by Brianna Terrance with three seconds left, to trail 31-23 at halftime.

East Bay outrebounded Academy of Art by a 25-18 margin in the first half. The Urban Knights put up 36 shots compared to 15 for the Pioneers.

The Pioneers will host U. Alaska-Fairbanks on November 17.