Box Score HAYWARD, Calif. – The Pioneer women's basketball team opened the 2012-13 campaign on a positive note by defeating Dominican University, 58-36, in opening round of the CCAA/Pacific West Conference Challenge in Pioneer Gym on Friday night.
A tenacious East Bay defense held Dominican to only 36 points, including 13 in the first half. The Penguins converted only 11 of 62 shots from the field. The Pioneers dominated the boards as they outrebounded the Penguins by a 64-38 margin.
“It's early in the season and we have plenty of areas that need to be improved upon,” Pioneer coach
Suzy Barcomb said. “We played well defensively and rebounded the ball as a team. Our defense allowed us to get non-contested looks at the basket.”
Lauren Lucchesi led the way for the Pioneers with 16 points. Lucchesi completed a double-double with 10 rebounds.
Meaghan Cichoke followed Lucchesi with 10 points on 4 of 8 from the field and 2 of 3 from the free throw line.
Sarah Finlay scored nine points and grabbed four rebounds, all in the first half.
Tori Breshers came off the bench to lead the Pioneers with 11 rebounds in 14 minutes.
Rachel Finnegan contributed to the Pioneer victory with 10 rebounds, four assists, three blocked shots and two steals.
Sarah Nelson came off the bench for the Penguins to score 12 points and nine rebounds.
Lucchesi hit a three-pointer and converted two free throws to give the Pioneers an early 5-1 lead with 16:49 remaining. The Pioneers would score three unanswered points and hold the Penguins without a field goal the following three minutes.
Dominican would hit consecutive three-pointers to get cut the Pioneer lead to 8-7 with 11:33 left. A 9-0 run, including a three-pointer by
Sabrina Swayzer extended the Pioneers advantage to 17-7. East Bay built a 28-13 lead, and didn't allow the Penguins to score a point the remaining 2:53 of the first half.
A layup by
Nia Bravo gave the Pioneers a commanding 35-15 lead with 16:15 left in the second half. The Pioneers maintained a 20-point advantage with 4:37 remaining. A pair of free throws by Finnegan enabled the Pioneers to hold their biggest lead of the game, 58-34, with 58 seconds left.
“We were not particularly sharp tonight, but we are missing several key players and making adjustments on the fly,” Barcomb said. “Sometimes it works and at times it was pretty chaotic. I'm proud of the team for picking up for the missing players. I'm looking forward to the point in our season when we have our full roster.”
The Pioneers will play Academy of Art, a 21-point winner over Humboldt State, on November 10th at 5:00 p.m. in the second day of the CCAA/Pacific West Conference Challenge.
