Box Score MONMOUTH, Ore. – Cal State East Bay found itself playing catchup throughout its 71-57 season opening defeat to Saint Martin's on Friday afternoon at the Hampton Inn & Suites D2 Shootout hosted by Western Oregon. The Pioneers defense held the Saints to 30 percent shooting from the field, but 25 turnovers proved too much to overcome.

East Bay's Tori Breshers scored the opening basket of the season and Friday's contest to put the Pioneers out front. SMU (1-0) responded with a 9-2 scoring run and did not trail the rest of the way.

Saint Martin's led 32-23 at the half despite knocking down only 8-of-31 (.258) shots from the floor, including a 2-of-16 (.125) performance from distance. Shooting struggles affected both squads over the opening 20 minutes as Cal State East Bay knocked down only 6-of-26 (.231).

"Today we did not play well as a cohesive unit and tried to score too often one-on-one," said East Bay Head Coach Suzy Barcomb. "Too many turnovers for us led to too many second chance points for Saint Martin's."

Cal State East Bay played without key returner Micah Walker throughout a majority of the match. The senior left the game due to an injury near the under 8-minute media timeout and did not score in the contest.

"When Micah went down, we struggled to regroup," said Barcomb. "Right now all we can do is control our attitude and effort in working towards becoming a better team."

A strong start out of intermission included a 7-for-10 effort from the floor led by seven early points from Remy Puou. Foul trouble affected playing time for several Pioneers including Puou, and the Saints took advantage of their trips to the free throw line connecting on 26-of-31 (.839) in regulation.

SMU's Brooke Paulson led all players with 18 points. Teammate MacKenzie Taylor completed her double-double with 11 points highlighted by a 7-of-8 effort from the charity stripe, to go along with 11 boards.

Stephanie Lopez led Cal State East Bay with 16 points, nine rebounds, and six assists. Bianca Littleton scored an efficient 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the floor in her official Pioneer debut. Shannon Bland added nine points and seven rebounds in the loss.

Cal State East Bay (0-1) will take on host Western Oregon on Saturday, Nov. 15, at 3 p.m.