Box Score SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Women's basketball completed its third straight season sweep in the 'Battle of the Bay' rivalry as Cal State East Bay earned a 58-50 win over San Francisco State on Friday night at The Swamp. The Pioneers will clinch a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Post-Season Tournament berth with a road victory Saturday over Sonoma State.
Standings:
2013-14 CCAA Women's Basketball
"We were not sharp at all tonight but we held on for an important win. We are incredibly fortunate," said East Bay Head Coach
Suzy Barcomb.
An early streak of nine unanswered points gave the Pioneers a 15-10 lead that they would hold until the final buzzer sounded. Cal State East Bay led for the final 31-plus minutes and were effective offensively from close range.
Danielle Peacon was the key contributor in the first half providing 12 points and six rebounds as Cal State East Bay built a 34-25 halftime lead. She finished with 14 points and eight boards after collecting 15 points and 10 rebounds in the first meeting with San Francisco State (14-13, 10-11 CCAA).
Senior
Brianna Terrance took over in the second half scoring 12 of her team-high 17 points, highlighted by a 6-for-6 effort at the free throw line. Of her 64 total points over the past three games (21.3 ppg) she has done most of her damage out of halftime scoring 48 points in the second period of those contests.
S.F. State was able to hang around with the help of senior guard Katie Batlin. After playing a limited factor in the first meeting she went for 21 points, nine rebounds, and three assists on Friday. Batlin fouled out of the game with 2:07 remaining and the Gators did not score the rest of the way.
"SFSU played with so much energy and we had no answer for Batlin. It was a struggle for us (to defend her) all night," commented Coach Barcomb.
Batlin shot 7-for-13 (.538) from the field while her teammates combined to knock down only 9-of-37 shots (.243). Lauren Varney finished with 10 points on a 3-for-11 shooting effort from the floor.
Cal State East Bay dominated inside enjoying a 28-6 points in the paint advantage. Point guard
Stephanie Lopez set up the offense dishing out a game-high six assists to go along with eight points and four boards.
Junior
Micah Walker finished with 10 points and three assists. Her performance tonight placed her on a pair of program all-time top-10 lists with 700 points and 147 assists.
Rachel Finnegan had a flawless shooting night going 3-for-3 from the field for six points. She finished with six rebounds, two assists, and was one of six Pioneers to snatch a steal on the night.
Four teams are in contention for the final three CCAA Tournament spots. Cal State Dominguez Hills (16-9, 12-9 CCAA), Cal State L.A. (15-10, 12-9 CCAA) and Cal State East Bay (15-13, 12-9 CCAA) can each clinch a spot with a Saturday win. Humboldt State (14-11, 11-10 CCAA) needs a victory, at least one of the aforementioned three squads to lose, and hold the tiebreaker advantage.
CSUEB will finish the regular season on the road Saturday, March 1, at Sonoma State (4-21, 3-18 CCAA). The Pioneers have won three of the past four meetings with the Seawolves including a 71-39 victory earlier this season.
