CHICO, Calif.-- Cal State East Bay held off a late Chico State rally to win their fifth straight game 55-53 Friday. The Pioneers improve their CCAA record to 12-2 and 18-4 overall.  The Wildcats conference record drops to 4-9 and 9-10 overall.

It was an historic night for senior Laci Effenberger, who knocked down a pair of three-pointers to break the program's single-season record. She now has 63 triples this year, passing Amy Elliot, who held the record with 62 since 2008. Effenberger finished with nine points in the game.

The Pioneers fell behind 11-5 with 3:51 left in opening quarter before turning on the afterburners and going on a 13-0 run heading to the second quarter. The Pioneers would impress again in the second and build a 33-17 halftime lead.

The Wildcats would start to chip-away at the lead in the third quarter and give themselves hope heading into the final quarter down 46-35.

The fourth quarter started off good as the Pioneers reeled-off the first five points to get back their 16 point halftime edge, but Chico State would answer with a 10-0 run and suddenly we had a ballgame.

With CSUEB leading 53-50 with 25 seconds, Ashleigh Anderson would split free throws to make it a four point game. The Wildcats Whitney Braham would take the next possession and hit a layup and tacked on the free throw after she was fouled by Anderson to make it 54-53.

Shannon Bland would split free throws to make it 55-53 and give the Wildcats a chance to tie or win on the final possession with 15 seconds left.

The Pioneers defense tightened-up and Chico State couldn't get off a shot as Madison Craig stole the ball from Chico State's Natalie Valenzuela to secure a 2-0 season sweep over the Wildcats.

The Pioneers win ties them for second place in the conference with UC San Diego at 12-2.

"We were very fortunate to walk out of this gym with a win. We need to regroup and regain our attention to detail," said Cal State East Bay Head Coach Suzy Barcomb. "We got off on the right foot in the first half and then we didn't pick up our intensity in the second half."

Tori Breshers added to her all-time career scoring record at Cal State East Bay with 11 points to lead her team. Breshers also had a game-high eight rebounds.

Craig and Anderson each had nine points. Craig added five rebounds, three assists, and three steals to her stat line. Anderson also had six rebounds.

The Pioneers shot 41.7% (20-48) from the field compared with 37.3% (19-51) for the Wildcats. Both teams each grabbed 34 rebounds.

A category where CSUEB separated from Chico State was bench points. The Pioneers bench outscored the Wildcats bench, 17-8.

The games won't get any easier as Cal State East Bay next plays 10-3 in the CCAA Stanislaus State in Turlock Saturday. The Warriors currently hold down fourth place in the conference.

"Stanislaus will be very ready to play us on their home floor," said Barcomb.

Tip-off is set for 5:30 P.M.