Box Score HAYWARD, Calif. - The Cal State East Bay women's basketball team continued to solidify its CCAA Tournament chances with a 58-52 victory over Cal State San Bernardino on Friday night at Pioneer Gym. The Pioneers (11-14, 8-11 CCAA) shot 50 percent from the field and hit six threes to pick up the win that gave them sole possession of seventh place in the conference standings with just three games remaining in the regular season.  

“The team continues to accept the challenges put before us and we are digging as deep as we possibly can to reach our ultimate goal of earning a CCAA playoff spot,” Head Coach Suzy Barcomb said. “That would be a huge step in the right direction for this team and our basketball program.”

Freshman Micah Walker scored a season-high 19 points to lead East Bay, going 6-for-12 from the field and adding a team-leading four assists, while knocking down five of her six free-throw attempts to help the Pioneers hold off the Coyotes down the stretch. Marlene MacMillan joined Walker in double figures, posting 11 points and adding five rebounds, to mark her sixth game with double-digit points in the last nine.

“Micah came up really big for us tonight,” Barcomb said. “She was focused, a great communicator and kept the team energized. Critical free throws by Micah at the end set us up for the very important win over San Bernardino after the loss to them earlier in the season.”

Lauren Lucchesi added eight points and a pair of blocks, while Cassie Coble led the team with eight rebounds. Brianna Terrance came off the bench to post eight points of her own while pulling down six rebounds. Nia Bravo scored five points and added five rebounds, hitting a key shot down the stretch to help hold off CSUSB.

“Mac shot the ball well, but she wasn't as dominating on the glass as she usually is and I thought that hurt us a bit,” Barcomb said. “Cass and Bri picked up key rebounds and I thought Nia had a nice game, hitting the key shot late to help hold off San Bernardino.”

Cal State East Bay had its second-best shooting night of the season, going 22-for-44 from the field and shooting 37.5 percent from three-point range. The Pioneers were out-rebounded for the first time in 13 games, but were able to take advantage of Cal State San Bernardino's 19.3 percent shooting in the first half and never trailed in the game.

Kristen Huffman paced Cal State San Bernardino with 12 points on a 6-for-10 performance from the floor, while Angela Streets paced the Coyotes on the glass with 11 rebounds. The Pioneers held Streets, the CCAA's leading scorer who averages over 16 points per game, to just nine points on 4-for-16 shooting from the field. CSUSB shot just 32.3 percent from the field as a team, including a dismal 6-for-31 showing from the floor in the first frame. The Coyotes also struggled from long range, going 4-for-19 from beyond the arc, but held a 37-34 advantage on the boards.

The Pioneers' brilliant three-point shooting in the first half helped them get out to an early nine-point lead before the Coyotes could even sink their first basket. East Bay's first three buckets came from long range, with Lucchesi, Coble and Walker each knocked down a three in the first five minutes of the half. Though CSUSB broke the near six-minute scoring drought, its struggles continued as the Pioneers built an 18-point lead thanks to a 15-4 run after the first Coyote basket. The run spanned over six minutes and saw Lucchesi, Walker and Bravo each hit a shot from beyond the arc.

Leading 24-6, the Pioneers went over four minutes without a basket from the field, but Walker and MacMillan knocked down free throws to give East Bay a 27-6 lead, its largest of the game. Though the Coyotes answered with their first three-pointer of the game to cut the advantage to 18 with 4:20 remaining, the Pioneers regained a 20-point lead, 31-11, with 3:22 to play in the half. The Coyotes finished off the scoring with back-to-back baskets, but the Pioneers took a 31-15 lead into the break.

Cal State San Bernardino turned things around in the second half, shooting 44.1 percent from the field and quickly cutting the East Bay lead to just nine with a 13-6 run to start the second frame. Though the Coyotes closed the gap to nine several times over the next 10 minutes, the Pioneers did enough to match CSUSB and hold onto their lead.

A second-chance layup off an offensive rebound by Huffman with 3:42 to play cut the East Bay advantage to 49-40. A three-pointer and free-throw by Jaslyn Cosey less than a minute later brought the Coyotes within five for the first time since the third minute of the game. The scores from Huffman and Cosey also kicked off a 14-6 run that cut the Pioneer lead to just two, 54-52 with 17 seconds left. From there, however, East Bay held strong, getting a pair of free throws from Walker to regain a four-point lead before MacMillan finished off scoring with an offensive board and layup to give the Pioneers the victory.

“We played a very defensive inspired first half,” Barcomb said. “We did not defend with the same passion or urgency in the second half and could have been very costly for this team. We continue to have letdowns and we just cannot afford the lapses in these final few games. Lucky for us we shot the ball well because we didn't get many attempts.”

Cal State East Bay now heads into the final three games looking to secure one of the final two spots available in the CCAA Tournament field. East Bay will face a tough test when it returns to action and welcomes No. 1 UC San Diego tomorrow night. The Pioneers will take on the undefeated Tritons (25-0, 19-0), who clinched the regular season title with a win over Cal State Monterey Bay on Friday, at 5:30 p.m. at Pioneer Gym. Senior Frieda Li will be honored prior to the game as part of Senior Night for the Pioneers.