Box Score HAYWARD, Calif. – Cal State East Bay women's basketball team lost to a streaking Cal Poly Pomona squad, 55-43, before 543 fans in Pioneer Gym.                                                                                                                    

With the defeat, the Pioneers stand at 2-5 in CCAA play and 4-7 overall. The Broncos extend their winning streak to four games, and improve to 5-3 in the CCAA and 7-5 for the season.

The Pioneers enjoyed a 42-33 advantage on the boards and shot 36.2 percent from the field, compared to 31.6% for the Broncos. East Bay was hurt by converting only 7-of-15 free throws and committing 25 turnovers.

Marlene MacMillan had her first double-double of the season with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Brianna Terrance and Tori Breshers each scored nine points.

“Marlene, Tori and Bri played well on the boards and that was big for us tonight,” Pioneer Head Coach Suzy Barcomb said. 

The Broncos' leading scorer for the season, J.J. Judge, led all scorers with 21 points. Ashley Boggs chipped in with 10 points for the Broncos.

Terrance hit three baskets to give the Pioneers an 8-3 lead with 17:31 left in the first half.

The Broncos took advantage of the arc to grab a 12-8 lead with 15:24 left. The Pioneers answered with a pair of Meaghan Cichoke three-pointers to take a 14-12 advantage.

Judge hit her third three-pointer of the half as the Broncos went on a 19-0 run to take a 31-14 lead with 9:31 left. The two teams played on even terms the remaining nine minutes as the Broncos took a 40-26 halftime lead.

“We dug ourselves a pretty significant hole in the first half,” Barcomb said. “We didn't execute well on the defensive end of the floor. I thought we seemed a step slow most of the night. That is the challenge of playing in the CCAA, teams must be ready to put it on the line on back to back nights.”

The Pioneers did a good job preventing the Broncos from extending its lead in the second half. MacMillan hit a jumper, while Sarah Finlay converted a basket to cut the Broncos lead to 44-36 with 9:38 remaining. East Bay, holding Cal Poly Pomona to five points in the first 13 minutes of the second half, narrowed the gap to 45-39 with 7:40 left on a Rachel Finnegan layup.

“I thought when we cut the lead to six on Rachel's lay-up the team was going to keep pushing, but a costly foul on the defensive end hurt our momentum,” Barcomb said.  “We must keep growing as a team and learn something about ourselves from this game and move forward.” 

Judge, who sat out part of the second half with four fouls, hit a basket and a three-pointer to give the Broncos a 53-41 advantage with 1:20 left. 

“We played a much better second half, defended with more urgency, and really focused on hitting the glass in the second half,” Barcomb said. 

Cal State East Bay will resume action on January 18th with a home game against Cal State San Bernardino.