Box Score ANAHEIM, Calif. – Cal State East Bay women's basketball was on the short end of a 77-73 final score to Montana State-Billings on Sunday afternoon at the Anaheim Convention Center. A back-and-forth battle went in favor of the Yellow Jackets after they scored nine of the game's final 11 points to conclude the CCA Tipoff Classic.

Cal State East Bay (0-3) was playing from behind after Montana State-Billings (1-2) went on a 23-6 scoring run spanning eight minutes of the first half. The Pioneers responded over the final nine minutes of the frame cutting a 17-point deficit to just one, before heading into the locker room down 37-35 at the half.

"Fighting back from such a large deficit took an enormous amount of effort and energy. We really came to life with 10 minutes left in the first half," said Head Coach Suzy Barcomb. "Unfortunately we could not hold them off in the end to earn the win today."

The Pioneer comeback trail was led by Danielle Peacon who finished with 24 points on 10-fo-15 shooting from the floor. Teammate Brianna Terrance was one point shy of her career-high with 18, and teammate Stephanie Lopez finished with 11. Sarah Finlay supplied a career-high eight assists, the most by any Pioneer player since the 2008-09 season.

Sunday's matchup featured seven lead changes, and a game-tying score on five occasions with most of the drama coming in the latter part of the second half. East Bay led 71-68 with 3:22 left on the clock and had high hopes of securing its first win of the young season.

The Yellow Jackets scored on back-to-back possessions to take the lead, and a 3-pointer from Quinn peoples with 58 seconds to go created a two-score difference at 75-71. Peacon scored the final two points of her game-high 24 to cut the deficit in half, and the Pioneers fouled in hopes of at least one missed free throw on the other end.

Annie DePuydt knocked down both free throws pushing the lead back to four to provide the final margin. She finished with a team-high 17 points including a 6-for-6 shooting performance from the floor. Teammate Kayleen Goggins added 17 points, and Bobbi Knudsen was two assists shy of a triple-double. Knudsen finished Sunday's contest with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Cal State East Bay faced arguably the most difficult schedule at the CCA Tipoff Classic. It included back-to-back games against two top-10 nationally ranked foes, and another regionally ranked squad in Montana State-Billings within a 50-hour stretch.

"Three games in such a short amount of time is not an ideal situation. We had an opportunity to play three great programs, learn more about our strengths and weaknesses, and become a better team," said Barcomb following the conclusion of the event on Sunday.

Cal State East Bay will take part in the two-day CCAA/PacWest Challenge starting on Saturday, Nov. 16. Academy of Art will host the event at Kezar Pavilion in San Francisco, Calif. The Pioneers will face Dominican (0-1) in their opener and the host Urban Knights (2-0) on Sunday, Nov. 17.