LA JOLLA, Calif. – A second half comeback fell just shy for Cal State East Bay women's basketball on the road Friday night falling 64-60 to UC San Diego at RIMAC Arena. Junior Tori Breshers finished with 26 points and a career-high five blocks to lead the Pioneers.

"It was an incredible environment, a hard fought contest, and a disappointing outcome for us tonight. The jam packed crowd gave UCSD energy and we did our best to fight back from our lackluster first half," said East Bay Head Coach Suzy Barcomb.

UC San Diego (10-8, 8-5 CCAA) closed out the opening period on a 29-10 run to turn a two point deficit into a 40-23 halftime lead. The Tritons shot better than 57 percent from the field (16-of-28) over the opening 20 minutes. Jamie Kituna, who did not play in the original matchup, scored 11 first half points on her way to a 15-point night.

In that matchup back on Dec. 6, the Pioneers held the Tritons to just 21 second half points en route to a 17-point victory. The defense stepped up again out of halftime holding the hosts to 24 over the final 20 minutes.

Cal State East Bay chipped away throughout the second half and closed the gap to 62-60 with eight seconds left following a second Breshers 3-pointer. Breshers finished with 20 second half points, nearly outscoring the Tritons by herself, and contributed more than half of the Pioneers 37 points during that time.

"Tori was terrific tonight. She worked hard on both ends of the floor," complimented Coach Barcomb on Breshers' performance.

UCSD's Miranda Seto was fouled on the ensuing possession and knocked down both free throws pushing the gap back to four with six seconds left. Seto led the Tritons with 20 points including a 4-of-5 performance from three.

East Bay's Stephanie Lopez finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, and a game-high five assists. Micah Walker added eight points and drained both of her 3-point attempts.

LeAnne Willingham played a career-high 12 minutes and finished with two points and a steal. However she played an unheralded role in the team's second half push.

"LeAnne was a huge spark off the bench for us tonight. Her energy and passion was unmatched by anyone tonight," Barcomb praised of her sophomore guard.

Four different Tritons scored in double digits including 11 apiece from Farrah Shokoor and McKennan Bertsch. Jamie Katuna added 15 off the bench connecting on 5-of-7 shots from the field and 3-of-4 free throw attempts.

UCSD has now played five straight games with the outcome decided by nine points or less. The Tritons are 2-3 in those contests following Friday's result.

Cal State East Bay (11-8, 6-7 CCAA) will face Cal Poly Pomona (13-4, 11-2 CCAA) on Saturday, Jan. 31. The Broncos defeated Cal State Monterey Bay 87-72 on Friday night, and handed the Pioneers a 76-60 loss in their original meeting on Dec. 5, 2014.