STOCKTON, Calif. – Cal State East Bay women's basketball continued its historic run on Friday with a 73-67 win in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) tournament semifinals over Humboldt State. The Pioneers will battle Cal State Dominguez Hills for an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, March 7, inside Stockton Arena at 5 p.m.

Cal State East Bay could not have dreamt of a better start to Friday's game taking a massive 21-1 lead less than eight minutes into the game. However it turned into a seemingly unstoppable nightmare as Humboldt State immediately answered with its own game-tying 24-4 scoring run.

"I think we had the slightest edge having already played in this tournament and (Humboldt) had not. You saw the nerves with us yesterday. They got rid of their nerves a lot faster today than we did (against Cal Poly Pomona)," said Head Coach Suzy Barcomb.

Humboldt State (23-5), who had won each of the previous two matchups with Cal State East Bay by two points, scored 18 unanswered and eventually pulled even with four minutes left in the first half. HSU's Kelci Haueter entered the game down 20 and immediately made an impact with a steal and assist to shooting specialist Jae Shin.

Shin provided the Jacks first field goal make of the game with a 3-pointer near the 11-minute mark of the first half. Haueter then knocked down a three of her own off a steal as Humboldt State's comeback began.

Starting at square one near the final seconds at halftime tied 29-29, East Bay recaptured some momentum heading into the break. The Pioneers scored four points over the final four seconds of the half following a pair of Tori Breshers free throws and a buzzer beating jumper from Shannon Bland.

Breshers led Cal State East Bay with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and four steals. She was one of six different Pioneers to score in double figures in another team victory.

"It was definitely a team effort. Without Tori, I wouldn't be able to handle things down low," said Remy Puou about her fellow post player. "My goal was to be strong today for our guards. It was really tough going against Shields tonight and against the bigs yesterday of Cal Poly Pomona, but Tori lightens the load."

Puou finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks. Senior Stephanie Lopez added 15 points and three assists before fouling out late in the contest. Despite the exit of Lopez, newcomer Laci Effenberger stepped up as the calming presence for the team.

Effenberger scored all 10 of her points in the second half, and contributed 15 of her 17 after halftime during Thursday's 75-70 victory over the Broncos.

Humboldt State took its first and only lead of the game after Megan Shields knocked down a pair of free throws with 8:39 remaining to go ahead 53-52. Cal State East Bay responded with nine straight points capped off by a Puou layup and-one opportunity following one of three Lopez assists on the night.

Puou and Effenberger combined to score six straight points after the Jacks again pulled to within a single possession with less than two minutes left. Shannon Bland knocked down 3-of-4 free throws in the final 33 seconds to seal the victory.

Senior Micah Walker finished with 10 points, six rebounds, three steals, and two assists in the win. Coach Barcomb was able to hold up her end of a promise she made to the then high school senior on her recruiting trip.

"I promised her we would be playing for the CCAA Championship her senior year. I told her the first three years we will get there and maybe fall short, but I guarantee you the fourth year we will play for the title," said Barcomb. "Rodd (Micah's father) sent a text reminding me about the story, and Micah did the same after tonight's game."

Shin led all players with 19 points, highlighted by a perfect 6-for-6 effort from the line. Teammate A'Jaee foster finished with nine points, 11 rebounds, and three assists. The Jacks combined to shoot 28-of-33 at the free throw line including 19-of-20 in the second half.

No. 6 seed Cal State East Bay (20-10) will take on No. 1 seed Cal State Dominguez Hills (25-6) in the CCAA Tournament title game on Saturday, March 7, at 5:05 p.m.