Box Score TURLOCK, Calif. – The Pioneer women's basketball team outscored Cal State Stanislaus by 16 points in the second half en route to a 53-35 victory over the Warriors on Friday.
East Bay has won three of its last five games and improves to 4-6 in CCAA play and 6-8 overall. Cal State Stanislaus dropped its fifth straight game and falls to 1-10 in the CCAA and 2-14 for the season.
The Pioneers, ranked sixth in Division II in field goal percentage defense, held the Warriors to only 27.5% shooting from the field. East Bay, 17th nationally in scoring defense, limited Cal State Stanislaus to a season-low 35 points.
“We played a very uninspired first half and came out with great energy and focus in the second half,” Pioneer Head Coach
Suzy Barcomb said. “We defended incredibly well at times.”
Lauren Lucchesi led a balanced Pioneer scoring attack with 13 points.
Sarah Finlay followed Lucchesi with eight points, while
Meaghan Cichoke and
Rachel Finnegan each scored seven.
Hege Blikra contributed to the Pioneer victory with five points and two assists in 12 minutes of action.
Marlene MacMillan led the Pioneers on the boards with nine rebounds. The Warriors' Lauren Godde topped all scorers with 20 points.
“Lauren and Hege gave us a great spark off the bench tonight, defensively and offensively,” Barcomb said. “Very balanced team scoring and rebounding tonight helped us get the win on the road.”
After the Warriors tied the game in the early going of the second half, the Pioneers responded with a 4-0 run on baskets by Finnegan and Lucchesi to grab a 23-19 with 14:54 remaining. East Bay extended its lead to 27-19 a minute later on
Brianna Terrance's layup and Finlay's jumper. A pair of Lucchesi free throws gave the Pioneers a 10-point advantage with 11:48 left.
The Pioneers increased their lead to 35-23 with 8:45 left on a layup by MacMillan. East Bay held a 43-29 advantage on Finlay's free throw with 5:49 remaining.
Cal State Stanislaus made things interesting with a 6-0 run with 4:38 left, but the Pioneers secured the victory by outscoring the Warriors 10-0 in the final four minutes.
The Pioneers held a 7-3 lead with 15:34 left in the first half on Finlay's three-pointer. Finlay scored her fifth point of the half on a jumper as the Pioneers increased their advantage to 12-5 two minutes later.
East Bay's lead was cut to one point when Godde made a layup with 8:38 left to conclude a Warrior 6-0 run.
Cichoke hit a three-pointer and added a basket as the Pioneers increased their lead to 19-13 with 3:19 remaining.
Cal State Stanislaus answered with a 4-0 in the final three minutes to narrow the Pioneers halftime lead to 19-17.
East Bay will play at CCAA leader Chico State on January 26. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.
