Box Score HAYWARD, Calif. – Prior to the start of the tonight's game between Cal State East and Cal State Stanislaus, the Pioneers honored seniors Nia Bravo, Lauren Lucchesi and Marlene MacMillan. Lucchesi and MacMillan came up big in the overtime period as the Pioneers came away with 56-54 win over Cal State Stanislaus.

The Pioneers conclude CCAA play with a 14-8 record and will play at Cal State Los Angeles on March 5 in the first round of the CCAA Women's Basketball Championships. East Bay improves to 16-10 overall. Cal State Stanislaus finishes 1-21 in CCAA play and 2-25 for the season.

East Bay outrebounded Cal State Stanislaus by a 49-30 advantage. The Pioneers shot only 33.3 percent from the floor, but connected on 4 of 7 shots in overtime.

“It was incredibly obvious we were still holding onto the loss to Chico,” Pioneer Head Coach Suzy Barcomb said.  “I knew it was going to be difficult for us to push past and then add on an emotional senior night and you had the perfect storm for Stanislaus to upset us on our home floor. We were running in mud all night and Cotton and Brown took advantage of it all night long.” 

MacMillan led the way for the Pioneers with 15 points, and recorded her third double-double of the season with a season-high 17 rebounds. Lucchesi and Brianna Terrance each scored 11 points.

“Marlene carried this team tonight, her rebounding was truly remarkable,” Barcomb said.  Lu came up big for us in the overtime period, scoring two big baskets and a big time offensive rebound on a missed free throw.  Micah came up with two big steals in the overtime period.” 

The Warriors' Briana Cotton led all scorers with 19 points. Devin Brown followed Cotton with 18 while Lauren Godde had 12.

Micah Walker had a steal and basket to give the Pioneers a 48-46 lead with 3:44 left in overtime. Lucchesi hit a basket with 2:30 remaining as the Pioneers maintained 50-48 lead.

Molly Farrar hit a jumper with 1:33 left to give the Warriors a 52-51 advantage. Lucchesi converted her second basket of the overtime as the Pioneers regained the lead, 53-52, at the 1:15 mark. MacMillan's basket with 25 seconds left  gave the Pioneers a 55-52 lead.

Cal State Stanislaus answered eight seconds later on a basket by  Brown to cut trim the deficit to 55-54.

MacMillan hit a free throw with 13 seconds left to extend the Pioneers lead to 56-54. The Warriors' Lauren Godde missed a three-pointer with three seconds remaining as the Pioneers came away with the overtime victory.

The Pioneers jumped out to a 29-24 lead on a Walker three pointer with 17:07 left in the second half.

Cal State Stanislaus went on a 13-6 run eight minutes later to grab a 37-35 advantage.  The Warriors extended their lead to 44-40 with 4:10 left on a Cotton basket.

Sarah Finlay converted a jumper with 2:59 remaining as the Pioneers tied the game, 44-44. The Pioneers grabbed a 46-45 lead with 1:48 remaining on a Lucchesi basket.

Cal State Stanislaus tied the game on a free throw by Lauren Godde. The Warriors had a golden opportunity to win the game in regulation, but Lauren Godde missed two free throws with 2.2 seconds left.    

The Pioneers committed three turnovers and trailed 4-0 early in the first half.

Finlay got the Pioneers on the board with a jumper and a layup by MacMillan tied the game 4-4 at the 16:30 mark. East Bay went on a 9-6 run to take a 13-10 advantage.

Cotton hit a basket with 5:24 left to give the Warriors a 16-15 lead. Brown converted a pair of free throws to extend the Warriors' lead to 22-18 with 2:15 left.

Walker hit a pair of free throws with 57 seconds remaining to trim the Warriors advantage to 22-20 at halftime. The Pioneers were only 5 of 28 from the field and 0 of 10  from the three-point area.

The Pioneers will make their second straight appearance in the CCAA Playoffs. East Bay has won 10 of its last 11 games entering its playoff opener against Cal State L.A.

“We established our goal of finishing in the top four last season, in the locker room after our first round loss in the CCAA tournament,” Barcomb said. "We have battled, fought and clawed our way up through the standings and we accomplished our goal.  We had hoped to be hosting a first round game, but it just wasn't in the cards for us.”