Box Score HAYWARD, Calif. – The Pioneer women's basketball team concluded their four-game homestand with a 61-50 defeat to UC San Diego on Saturday night.

With the defeat, the Pioneers stand at 3-6 in CCAA play and 5-8 for the season. The Tritons, who have won four of their last five games, improve to 7-3 in the CCAA and 9-8 overall.

For the third straight game, Marlene MacMillan led the Pioneers in scoring with 13 points. MacMillan topped the Pioneers on the boards with seven rebounds. Brianna Terrance followed MacMillan with 11 points, including seven in the first half.

Daisy Feder, the CCAA leading scorer, tallied 16 points in the first half, and ended with 19 for the Tritons. Emily Osga and McKennan Bertsch scored 13 and 10 points respectively.
 
A three-point play by Terrance gave the Pioneers an early 4-3 advantage.

Led by a pair of three-pointers by Feder, the Tritons went on an 11-4 run to take a 14-8 lead with 15:49 left. The Tritons maintained their six-point advantage four minutes later. Feder's third three-pointer followed by a jumper, extended the Tritons lead to 32-20 with 4:45 remaining.

Sarah Finlay, who scored seven points in the first half, converted a three-pointer two minutes later to trim the Tritons' lead to 32-23.

The Tritons answered with a 7-2 run, led by Osga's five points, to take a 14-point halftime lead. UC San Diego shot 54 percent from the field and hit 6-of-12 three-pointers.

“We let UCSD shooters feel comfortable in our gym and get hot,” Pioneer Head Coach Suzy Barcomb said.  “We can't allow great shooters such as Osga and Feder to have that much success in the first half.”  “It was a big hole to climb out of for us in the second half, too big to overcome.

An 8-0 run to open the second half enabled the Tritons to build a 47-25 advantage.                                                 

The Pioneers answered with a 6-0 run, led by a pair of MacMillan baskets to trim the Tritons lead to 47-31 with 15:12 left. The Pioneers continued to chip away at the Tritons lead with a 6-2 run the following six minutes. East Bay came within eight points with 7:59 remaining on a basket by Breshers and two MacMillan free throws.

UC San Diego responded with a 10-2 run to take a 59-43 advantage with 5:26 left. The Pioneers battled back as Hege Blikra hit a basket to narrow the Tritons lead to 59-48 at the 3:28 mark. The Tritons added a basket with 2:55 remaining to seal the victory.

“We are getting good production from our inside players and now we just need to get our outside game going with more consistency night in and night out,” Barcomb said. “If we could get consistent play from the core group; scoring, rebounding and defending we will continue to improve as a team.”

Following four straight home games, the Pioneers will play at Cal State Stanislaus on January 25.

“The CCAA is a grind, you have to constantly find what your team is doing well against the opponent that night and exploit it,” Barcomb said.  “It could be something completely different each night. We need to find our strengths and build upon them.”