HAYWARD, Calif. – Cal State East Bay ended its 6-game homestand with a 60-43 win over Holy Names on Tuesday afternoon inside Pioneer Gymnasium. The Pioneers are off to their best 9-game start since the 2005-06 season and have won five of six at home over the recent stretch run.

"We came away with a win, but played with very little intensity. I'm disappointed with how our team approached the game today," said East Bay Head Coach Suzy Barcomb. "Holy Names played with more energy and effort than us. We didn't respond very well to the challenge. The credit goes to (them) for putting us back on our heels most of the day."

HNU's season leading scorer Garysha Youngblood scored 10 of her team-high 12 points in the first half and helped build an early lead for the Hawks. The Pioneers held a slim 10-9 advantage when the team's offensive rebounding helped take control of the game.

East Bay scored 12 of its next 16 points inside the paint and Sharissa Estremera knocked down a 3-pointer to cap off a 19-8 scoring run. A Mo Fegan triple on the team's final first half possession gave the Pioneers their largest lead up to that point and provided a 32-19 halftime score.

Holy Names (2-7) made a strong push early in the second half as back-to-back 3-pointers from Kristi Sakamoto capped off a string of 10 unanswered points in cutting the margin to six. Teammate Ariel Clay scored eight of her 10 points over the final 20 minutes with her bucket at the 7:46 mark making it 40-35 in favor of the Pioneers.

"Too many turnovers and many missed free throws could have really cost us the game. Luckily for us we managed to get on the offensive glass and pick up some second chance points," Barcomb added.

East Bay committed 22 turnovers and had its poorest free throw shooting effort of the season (13-of-22, .591) on Tuesday. A late scoring run initiated by the team's season leading scorer put the game out of reach.

Stephanie Lopez and Estremera would combined to score 11 straight East Bay points and build the lead back up to 16. Lopez finished with game-highs of 15 points and three steals.

Tori Breshers filled the stat sheet with 11 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, and four blocks. Remy Puou added seven points on only five shots from the field to go along with 11 boards. Estremera finished with eight points on 3-of-5 shooting and knocked down both of her attempts from beyond the arc.

Cal State East Bay (7-2, 2-1 CCAA) will be on the road Saturday, Dec. 20, to face Cal State Monterey Bay (2-6, 0-3 CCAA).