Box Score HAYWARD, Calif. - A jumper from Micah Walker with just four seconds remaining pushed the Cal State East Bay women's basketball team to a 53-51 upset win over No. 22 Cal Poly Pomona for Homecoming on Saturday night at Pioneer Gym. The Pioneers (10-13, 7-10 CCAA) held the advantage on the boards  and shot 60 percent from three-point range while never trailing the fourth-place Broncos by more than eight points at any time during the game. With the win, East Bay extended its winning streak to four games, posting its second straight weekend sweep and its fifth win in the last seven games.

“We are running on fumes and somehow, somewhere this team found the energy to play an incredible game against a tremendously talented Pomona team,” Head Coach Suzy Barcomb said. “I'm exhausted so I can't even imagine how the team feels. I asked that we play with mental focus and for us to slow the game down as much as possible.  The team worked so well together as we constantly kept subbing players in and out in an effort to steal seconds of rest.”

Leading 51-49 with just over a minute to play, a technical foul by the Pioneers led to two Megan Ford free throws and a tie game. After a Cal Poly Pomona missed jumper with 49 seconds left, Nia Bravo grabbed the board and sent the Pioneers down the court where Brianna Terrance missed a jumper but grabbed her own rebound before Barcomb called a timeout with 23 seconds left and East Bay inbounding the ball. Holding out for the last shot, the Pioneers moved the ball around until Terrance fed Walker the ball and she drained the jumper with four ticks left on the clock. With enough time left to get down the court for one last shot, East Bay put the defensive pressure on and kept the Broncos from taking a shot to hold on for the victory.

“The final play was all Micah, we tried to spread Pomona out and attack,” Barcomb said. “The goal was shot at the buzzer to win it or go into overtime.”

Junior Marlene MacMillan paced the Pioneers for the second straight night, posting 13 points and coming up just one rebound shy of another double-double with nine boards. Brianna Terrance returned to form, coming off the bench to score 10 points and going 5-for-11 from the field and 4-4 from the charity stripe, while adding eight rebounds.

Cassie Coble posted nine points and eight rebounds and went 3-for-4 from three-point range, while Walker finished with seven points and a team-leading five assists on the night. Lauren Lucchesi also chipped in eight points, helping the short-handed Pioneers knock down six shots from long range with a pair of her own. The quartet of MacMillan, Lucchesi, Coble and Walker also contributed defensively, each posting a block and combining for five steals.

“It may sound cliché, but this truly was a total team effort in the end,” Barcomb said. “We committed to rebounding better in the second half and tried forcing Pomona into more difficult shots.”

Cal Poly Pomona was led by Ford's 14 points and Charlene Popoff's 10-point, 12-rebound double-double. The Broncos shot 38.3 percent from the field and went 12-for-17 from the free-throw line.

As a team, East Bay finished the game shooting 44.9 percent from the field and held a six-board advantage on the glass, holding Ford, the league's top rebounder, to just two boards on the night. Though the Pioneers turned the ball over 23 times, they also forced 16 Pomona miscues and held the Broncos to just 25 percent shooting from three-point range.

Though the Pioneers opened the game with a 2-0 lead, the Broncos quickly built a 14-6 advantage with 11 minutes left to play in the half. East Bay answered right back, however, putting together a 14-6 run of its own, tying the game at 20 points apiece. A jumper from Terrance, followed by a three from Lucchesi sparked the run that saw Walker score five points and Bravo hit a pair of shots. Locked in a 20-20 tie with 6:23 to play, the two teams traded points for the next three minutes with East Bay taking a one-point lead twice during that span. Pomona got the last word in the half, however, taking a 31-30 lead before both teams ended the first frame on a three-minute scoring drought.

The Pioneers opened the second half with an 11-6 run that gave them a five-point advantage. Coble knocked down a three early in the run before MacMillan and Terrance took over, scoring four points apiece during that span. Trailing 45-40 on Coble's second three of the half, Cal Poly Pomona put together a 7-2 run to tie the game at 47 with 4:41 remaining. A Ford jumper gave the Broncos their first lead since the half before Terrance answered right back and MacMillan followed with a bucket to give East Bay it's 51-49 lead with 2:16 to play and setting up the dramatic finish.

Now in sole possession of seventh place after entering the weekend in 10th place in the CCAA, Cal State East Bay will return to action against another of the conference's top teams in just three days. The Pioneers are set to travel to Cal State Monterey Bay on Tuesday before returning home for the final homestand of the season, facing Cal State San Bernardino on Feb. 17 and No. 1 UC San Diego for Senior Night on Feb. 18.