Box Score TURLOCK, Calif. – The Cal State East Bay women's basketball team remained in the hunt for the final CCAA Tournament berth with a 61-51 victory over Cal State Stanislaus on Thursday night at Fitzpatrick Arena. The Pioneers (12-15, 9-12 CCAA) held off the Warriors to pull into a tie with Sonoma State for seventh in the league standings with just one game remaining. East Bay needs a win over Chico State or a Cal State San Bernardino loss to Humboldt State on Friday night to clinch the final spot.

“We got an important win tonight,” Head Coach Suzy Barcomb said. “We were not very well-focused, nor did we play particularly well, but it goes down as a win. Stanislaus never gave up and played hard for 40 minutes. We were lucky to hit some free throws late to ice the game.”

Marlene MacMillan paced the Pioneers, posting her seventh double-double of the season with 13 points and 15 rebounds. The junior forward also led East Bay with six assists and hit four free throws in the final minute of play to seal the victory. Micah Walker joined MacMillan, scoring in double figures for the fourth straight game with 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field. Lauren Lucchesi, Brianna Terrance and Cassie Coble added eight points apiece, with Coble and Lucchesi also chipping in with six rebounds.

“Mac had some critical rebounds and dished out some great assists,” Barcomb said.

Jameiz Terrell and Lauren Godde posted double-digit points for the Warriors, with Terrell notching 19 and Godde adding 11. Erin Godde led the Cal State Stanislaus rebounding efforts with 10 boards and added nine points in the loss. The Warriors shot 39.2 percent from the field and were out-rebounded by the Pioneers 36-34.

The Pioneers finished shooting 39 percent from the field and went 5-for-12 from thee-point range to help hold off the Warriors. East Bay also blocked five Warrior shots, led by Coble's three swats, and forced 18 Cal State Stanislaus turnovers. The Pioneers also held the advantage in second-chance points, out-scoring the Warriors 21-2 thanks to 16 offensive boards.

Neither team led by more than seven points in a first half that saw the game timed four times and lead change eight times. The Pioneers opened up an early four-point lead with a pair of threes from Coble and Walker before the Warriors answered back to take a 14-10 lead with 14:39 to play in the half. Just seven minutes later, the Pioneers had regained a five-point lead, 27-22 thanks to a 17-5 run that included four points apiece from MacMillan, Lucchesi and Terrance. Before the half ended, East Bay had pushed the lead to seven points twice before the Warriors went to the break on a jumper from Terrell to give the Pioneers a 35-30 lead at the half.

Early in the second half, East Bay held onto its lead but never got comfortable as Stanislaus continued to answer every basket. After the Pioneers took a five-point lead, its largest of the half, on a Lucchesi three with 8:36 to play, the Warriors began a comeback that saw tie the game twice and take a 51-50 advantage with 4:48 remaining. East Bay felt the pressure and responded, however, getting a free throw from MacMillan to tie the game before four-straight points from Terrance gave them a four-point lead with two minutes remaining. MacMillan, Coble and Terrance finished off scoring with six free throws to seal the 10-point victory and move the Pioneers closer to a CCAA Tournament bid.

Following the win, East Bay needs a win over Chico State or a Cal State San Bernardino loss to Humboldt State on Friday night to clinch the final spot. With Cal State Monterey Bay's loss to Chico State on Thursday, the tiebreaker with the Coyotes was thrown into flux. A win over the Wildcats tomorrow will secure the playoff spot for the Pioneers regardless of San Bernardino's outcome against the Jacks. A loss for East Bay combined with a Coyotes win, however, will leave the Pioneers' fate in the hands of the Otters and Cal Poly Pomona. If Cal State East Bay and Cal State San Bernardino finish tied (Pioneer loss and Coyote win), the tiebreaker will be determined by record against the CCAA Tournament teams, beginning with the No. 1 seed, UC San Diego. Since both teams were swept by the Tritons, the tiebreaker would move to record against the No. 2 seed, which will be determined by the outcome of the Otters and Broncos' matchups on Friday.

Cal State East Bay will look to secure the final spot in the CCAA Tournament when it takes on Chico State to close out the regular season tomorrow. The Pioneers will look for the season split with the Wildcats at Acker Gym in Chico starting at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.