Box Score HAYWARD, Calif. – The Pioneer women's basketball team nine-game winning streak came to end following a 59-56 defeat to CCAA co-leader Chico State on Thursday night.

With the defeat, the Pioneers are tied with Cal State L.A. for fourth place in the CCAA play at 13-8. East Bay is 15-10 for the season. Chico State remains tied for first place in the CCAA with a 16-5 record. The Wildcats improve to 21-4 for the season.

The Pioneers held a 36-33 rebound margin over the Wildcats, but shot only 38.9 percent from the field and converted 12 of 20 free throws.

“Chico played to win during crunch time and we became passive when it counted most,” Pioneer Head Coach Suzy Barcomb said. "They were playing to stay in the hunt for the CCAA title and when they picked up the intensity level we did not respond in a positive manner.  Credit goes to Chico and their players.”

Tori Breshers came off the bench to lead the Pioneers in scoring with 15 points on 6 of 9 from the field and 3 of 5 from the free throw line. Sarah Finlay followed with 12 points while Brianna Terrance had 11. Marlene MacMillan led the Pioneers on the boards with 10 rebounds.

“Tori was outstanding tonight,” Barcomb said.  “She scored, defended, rebounded, and played to win.  Mac got on the glass once again tonight, but I've said all season we must team rebound and not rely on just a couple of players.”

Jazmine Miller and Hannah Womack scored 17 and 16 points respectively for the Wildcats. McKenzie Dalthorp added 12 points in 22 minutes. Monnie Davidson-Mays pulled down 10 rebounds.

The Pioneers tied the game, 36-36, on a pair of Terrance free throws with 17:56 left in the second half. East Bay went ahead 40-39 on two Finlay free throws. Terrance gave the Pioneers a three-point lead with a basket at the 12:36 mark.

Nia Bravo hit a couple of big hoops as the Pioneers went on 7-3 run the following five minutes to take a 49-42 lead.

Miller converted a three-pointer and a layup to give Chico State 51-49 advantage with 5:05 remaining. Finlay tied the game on a jumper thirty seconds later.

The Wildcats went on an 8-1 run to grab a 59-52 lead with 1:24 left in the game.

East Bay made things interesting on a Breshers steal and basket with 1.5 seconds left to trail 59-56. Chico State held possession of the ball in the final second to earn the victory.

“When you are in this tight of a contest executing all of the little things matter the most and we did not execute,” Barcomb said.  "We got them in foul trouble and didn't connect from the free throw line.  We would get a defensive stop but not box out and Chico would out-hustle us to the ball.” 

The Wildcats got off to a hot start hitting 3-of-4 shots from the field to take a 7-2 with 17:40 left.
Miller hit her second three-pointer of the game as the Wildcats extended their lead to 10-2 a minute later.

Micah Walker hit a three-pointer to close the Wildcats lead to 12-5 with 14:20 left.                                            

Breshers and Terrance both came off the bench to score four points each as the Pioneers went on 10-4 to trail 16-15 with 11:18 remaining. East Bay took its first lead of the game with 9:26 left on a MacMillan basket.

Chico State, which hit 4 of 6 three-pointers in the first half, went on a 12-0 run the following five minutes to grab a 28-17 advantage.

MacMillan followed in a missed shot and three Finlay free throws enabled the Pioneers to close the gap to 34-31 at halftime. Breshers led the Pioneers with 10 points. MacMillan was tough on the boards with seven rebounds.

“It is going to be a tough loss to push past,” Barcomb said.  "We must re-group, re-focus and come out prepared to execute tomorrow night.  We can't let one loss this late in the season keep us from reaching our goals.  We have worked too hard to get to this point to back down now.”

The Pioneers will conclude the regular season on Friday with a home game against Cal State Stanislaus. Tipoff time for “Senior Night” is 5:30 p.m.