Tuesday, Mar. 5
CCAA Championships - First Round
vs. No. 4 seed Cal State L.A. (19-10, 16-8 CCAA)
Eagles Nest | Los Angeles
7 p.m.
 Live video | Live stats

HAYWARD, Calif. – For the second straight season, the Pioneer women's basketball team will be competing in the CCAA Women's Basketball Championship Tournament. The Pioneers, the No. 5 seed, will play at No. 4 seed Cal State L.A. on Mar. 5. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. The winner will advance to the second round of the Tournament to be played in Ontario, Calif., on Mar. 8.

ABOUT THE SERIES
Cal State East Bay and Cal State L.A. split two games during the regular season. Cal State L.A. posted a 53-38 home victory over the Pioneers on January 4. The Golden Eagles held the Pioneers to a 24.5 shooting percentage from the field. Tessondra Williams led the Golden Eagles with 17 points. Cal State East Bay evened the series with a 60-47 win over the Golden Eagles on February 9. The Pioneers built a 37-17 halftime lead and never looked back. Lauren Lucchesi led three Pioneer players in double figures with 17 points. Brianna Terrance and Micah Walker scored 13 and 12 points respectively. Williams was held to seven points.

“The regular season is complete,” Pioneer Head Coach Suzy Barcomb said.  From my perspective all eight teams start with a clean slate.  We must hit to road and travel to CSLA, who finished off the final two weekends with must wins and came out 4-0 and the fourth seed.” 

PIONEER PREVIEW
The Pioneers enter Tuesday's game with a 16-10 overall record. East Bay posted a 14-8 record in CCAA play. The Pioneers have won 10 of their last 11 games. East Bay has captured its last five road contests. .
In the latest NCAA II statistics as of February 28, the Pioneers are second in scoring defense (50.3) and sixth in field goal percentage defense (33.3%). East Bay led the CCAA in scoring defense (49.5) and ranked second in field goal percentage defense (34.6%). During the regular season, the Pioneers held their opponents to under 50 points in 11 games and lower than 40 in five contests.

“We have accomplished so much this season,” Barcomb said.  “I think the results across the league last weekend, impacted us on an emotional level and we weren't able to fully acknowledge our success of finishing in the top four.  Some may think we are over-achieving.  I view it as us reaching our potential.  We could have folded several times this year when we weren't getting the positive results we wanted.  But, we kept plugging along and finally we turned the corner and won 10 out of our last 11 games.” 


INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS
Terrance is the leading scorer for the Pioneers this season with a 9.2 point per game average. Walker, averaging eight points a game, is second behind Terrance in scoring. Marlene MacMillan, averaging 7.7 points per game, leads the Pioneers on the boards with an 8.2 rebound average. MacMillan was second in the CCAA with 8.2 rebounds a contest. Lucchesi is fourth in scoring at 7.3 points per contest. Sarah Finlay is the fifth leading scorer for the Pioneers with a seven point per game average.  Tori Breshers, averaging 6.6 points per game, has a team-high 28 blocks. Breshers was third in the CCAA with an average of one block a game.

“We are a blue collar team that knows we must defend on every possession in order to give ourselves a chance to win,” Barcomb said. “We don't have any superstars; we have several players having positive impacts on the outcome of the game, in a variety of ways.  We will take that same approach into our first round game of the CCAA play-offs.” 


ABOUT CAL STATE L.A.
The Golden Eagles finished 19-10 for the season and 14-8 in the CCAA. Cal State L.A. has won its last four games, all on the road, including a 14-point victory over regular season CCAA Champion Chico State.  Williams is the Golden Eagles leading scorer with a 19.1 point per game average. Lacey Gibbons and Paige Melville are averaging 8.4 and eight points respectively. Richelle Najera is the Golden Eagles leading rebounder at 6.5rpg.

“Cal State L.A. is led by the dynamic and tough-minded guard, Tessondra Williams and has a tremendous supporting cast,” Barcomb said.  “If you look at what they have accomplished over the last four games it is pretty amazing.”