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Tuesday, Feb. 28 - CCAA Tournament First Round
vs. No. 2 seed Cal State Monterey Bay (18-7, 15-6 CCAA)
The Kelp Bed - Seaside
7 p.m.
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HAYWARD, Calif. – The Cal State East Bay women's basketball team will make its first CCAA postseason appearance this week when it heads to Cal State Monterey Bay for its CCAA Tournament First Round game on Tuesday at The Kelp Bed. The seventh-seeded Pioneers (12-16, 9-13 CCAA) will be looking for their first win in the last six tries against the No. 2 seed Otters, who are making their third straight appearance in the conference postseason. The two teams are set to tip off at 7 p.m. tomorrow at The Kelp Bed in Seaside.
East Bay is coming off a split in the final week of the regular season, topping Cal State Stanislaus before falling to No. 5 seed Chico State. The Pioneers have won seven of their last 12 games, including a four-game winning streak earlier this month, that included a win over then-No. 22 Cal Poly Pomona and helped East Bay grab the final playoff spot.
The Pioneers finished the regular season with one of the top defense in the CCAA, holding opponents to just 59 points per game to rank four in the conference. East Bay is also leading the league in rebounding defense, allowing the opposition to 33.7 boards per game and out-rebounding opponents by 3.4 points per game, the second-best margin in the CCAA behind UCSD.
Cal State East Bay has been playing well lately, shooting better than 35 percent from the field in eight of its last 10 games, including a 50 percent shooting percentage in a win over Cal State San Bernardino. The Pioneers have also hit at least four three-pointers in nine of the last 10 games and hit 70 percent or more of their free throws in seven of those games after hitting that mark just seven times in the first 18 games of the year.
With a roster depleted by injuries, East Bay has needed its remaining players to step up and step up is exactly what they've done. Junior forward
Marlene MacMillan paces the Pioneers with 9.3 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, the latter of which ranks fourth in the CCAA. Just behind her
Micah Walker is scoring 9.2 points per game after scoring in double figures in four of the last five games. Walker is also leading the team in assists, dishing out 2.1 per game and tallying three or more 11 times this season.
Meanwhile,
Brianna Terrance has been a force off the bench during the second half of the season, averaging 8.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest on the year and has scored 11.2 points per game since the midway point in the season.
Lauren Lucchesi (8.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg) and
Cassie Coble (6.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg) have also been key during the final run up to the playoffs, especially since the Pioneers lost both
Hege Blikra and
Sarah Finlay to knee injuries.
East Bay faces a tough test against the playoff-tested Otters, who were the No. 1 seed a year ago and reached the CCAA Tournament final before falling to Cal Poly Pomona. Cal State Monterey Bay has won every meeting with the Pioneers since they joined the CCAA during the 2009-10 season and is 11-4 at The Kelp Bed this year. If the Pioneers emerge victorious, they would advance to the CCAA Tournament semifinals to be played at RIMAC Arena on the UC San Diego campus on Mar. 2. With a win, East Bay would face the highest remaining seed left in the tournament.
The CCAA Tournament berth marks a first for both the program and Cal State East Bay as a whole. The women's basketball team will be the first to represent the university in a CCAA playoff game in the first year that the Pioneers are eligible for CCAA postseason play after spending the last three years in the transition process before being granted active member status in Division II in July 2011.
Scouting the Otters
Cal State Monterey comes into the CCAA Tournament as the No. 2 seed with an overall record of 18-7 and a 15-6 mark in league play. The Otters are making their third straight conference playoff appearance and are just a year removed from reaching the tournament final. Monterey Bay is out-scoring opponents by nearly five points a game to rank fourth in the conference and boast the top three-point field goal percentage defense in the CCAA, holding the opposition to just 25.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc. The Otters are also the second-best shot-blocking team in the league, swatting away 2.9 shots per game. Brandi Stephens is pacing Cal State Monterey Bay with 10.5 points per game, while Brittani Jefferson's 7.6 rebounds per contest lead the Otters' rebounding efforts. Jefferson is also fourth in the CCAA with one blocked shot per game and Stefanie Corgel ranks among the top 10 in the conference with 1.8 three pointers per game. The Otters came out victorious in the teams' two meetings this season, picking up a 12-point win in Hayward before claiming a 68-57 victory at The Kelp Bed on Feb. 14. Five Otters scored in double figures, led by Corgel and Shonetta Crain-Williams, who each scored 12 points.
2012 CCAA Tournament Schedule
Tuesday – February 28 – First Round (At Campus Sites)
Women's Tournament
No. 5 Chico State at No. 4 Humboldt State; 5:30 p.m.
No. 6 Cal State L.A. at No. 3 Cal Poly Pomona; 5:30 p.m.
No. 8 Sonoma State at No. 1 UC San Diego; 7 p.m.
No. 7 Cal State East Bay at No. 2 Cal State Monterey Bay; 7:30 p.m.
Men's Tournament
No. 8 Cal State Dominguez Hills at No. 1 Chico State; 7:30 p.m.
No. 7 Cal State Stanislaus at No. 2 Cal Poly Pomona; 7:30 p.m.
No. 6 Cal State L.A. at No. 3 Humboldt State; 7:30 p.m.
No. 5 Cal State San Bernardino at No. 4 Sonoma State; 7:30 p.m.
Friday - March 2 – (RIMAC Arena – UC San Diego; La Jolla)
Men's Semifinal No. 1: Noon
Men's Semifinal No. 2: 2:30 p.m.
Women's Semifinal No. 1: 5:30 p.m.
Women's Semifinal No. 2: 8 p.m.
Saturday – March 3 – (RIMAC Arena – UC San Diego; La Jolla)
Men's Championship: 5 p.m.
Women's Championship: 7:30 p.m.
