HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay women's basketball team won its fifth straight game and its eighth in the last nine on Saturday evening, defeating Cal Poly Pomona by a final score of 72-62 at Pioneer Gymnasium. 

Reigning California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Player of the Week Shomari Harris tallied 26 points, nine rebounds, and four assists in the victory. She went 7-for-8 from long distance, tying the school record for most three-pointers in a single game. 

The Pioneers are now 13-7 for the season with a 10-3 mark in conference play. They hold a two-game lead over CPP and Stanislaus State (both 8-5) for second place in the standings. As a program, CSUEB is now 35-7 in its last 42 CCAA games dating back to January of 2015. 

Statistically the game was tight, but the Pioneers simply made more buckets. They out-shot the Broncos 48.0 percent to 41.7 percent from the field and were red hot from three-point range, burying 11 of their 17 attempts. 

The game was extremely close for almost the entire first half. Harris knocked down five triples in the first two quarters, but Pomona took advantage of its size in the post to create second chances and match points with the Pioneers. With 1:40 remaining in the half, the score was tied 25-25. After a missed three-pointer by CPP, Shontalene Trudeau was fouled in the paint, got her shot to fall, and made the free throw for an old-fashioned three-point play. Harris then knocked down three-pointers the next two times down the court, and the Pioneers closed the quarter on a 9-0 run to take a 34-25 lead into halftime. 

After grabbing the momentum to close the first half, the Pioneers kept it at the start if the second. They began the third quarter on a 19-4 run to open up a 24-point lead over the Broncos. 

But to their credit, Pomona refused to roll over. They scored 11 straight points to close out the third quarter and get their deficit to 13 points. The visitors continued to chip away through the fourth quarter, led by Alyssa Benton, who finished with a team-high 19 points. She hit her third three-pointer of the night with 1:32 left to make the score 65-62 in favor of CSUEB. The Pioneers were in danger of giving away the lead, but Trudeau converted another three-point play on the next possession to put the Pioneers back up by six. They added four points at the free throw line in the final seconds to escape with the win and even the season series with the Broncos. 

Morgan Greene matched Harris for the team lead with nine rebounds, and she matched her career high with 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting. Trudeau finished with a season-high 12 points on 5-for-8 from the floor. Bri Guillory and Kayley Hsiung added six points apiece. 

Harris is averaging 23.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game over the last two weeks, while shooting 58.3 percent from long distance (14-for-24).

Next up, the Pioneer women go back on the road, where they have an impressive 7-3 record this season, to visit Cal State San Bernardino and UC San Diego next weekend.