HAYWARD, Calif., -- The Cal State East Bay women's basketball team will kick off the the 2017-18 regular season with weekend games against Holy Names (Nov. 10) and Academy of Art (Nov. 11) in the West Region Tip-Off Classic.
 
The Pioneers will take on Holy Names on Friday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. and will complete the weekend with a game against Academy of Art on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. Both games will be held in Kezar Pavilion in San Francisco.
 
Cal State East Bay is coming of back-to-back California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) tournament championships and was picked to finish second in the CCAA Preseason Polls.
 
Under second-year head coach Shanele Stires, CSUEB carries high expectations coming off a 22-9 record and an appearance at the NCAA Division II West Regionals. But success is no guarantee, and the Pioneers will have a much different look this season as they try to replace the production of CCAA Player of the Year Shomari Harris and First Team All-CCAA center Remy Puou.
 
The Pioneers will nonetheless bring an extremely talented roster to the court in 2017-18. The CCAA's leading rebounder, Morgan Greene, is back after averaging 7.6 points and 10.2 boards per game as a redshirt freshman. East Bay also returns its starting backcourt of Kayley Hsiung and Kincso Kelemen, as well as veteran guards Bri Guillory and Elayshia Woolridge. That core will be joined by an impressive group of newcomers that includes four Division I transfers and two of the most decorated junior college players on the west coast in Savannah McGill and Gabby Vigil.
 
PIONEER POINTS
In East Bay's only exhibition match of the season against UC Santa Barbara Sophomore forward Morgan Greene (Phoenix, Ariz.) appeared to be in midseason form after scoring 25 points and grabbing 14 rebounds, both game high for the evening. Greene shot 11-for-19 from the field and knocked down three her four foul shots. She also added two steals in 35 minutes of action.
 
The Gauchos held a 13-12 lead before ripping off a 22-0 run to go ahead 35-12, while the Pioneers went scoreless for over seven minutes of game action. UC Santa Barbara would cool down in the second quarter as the took a 40-22 lead into the intermission.
 
For the game, the Gauchos shot 45.2 percent (28-for-62) from the field and 37 percent from three (10-for-27) while the Pioneers to 34.8 percent (23-for-66). East Bay caught fire in the second half from beyond the arc shooting 44.4% accuracy (4-for-9).
 
All together the Pioneers had three players notch double figures in the game. Senior guard Janae Chamois (Eastvale, Calif.) chipped in 11 points, two steals and a rebound while sinking a team-best three shots from long distance. Sophomore Kincso Kelemen (Sfantu Gheorghe, Romania) tallied 10 points on 2-for-3 shooting from three-point land and a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. Kelemen also dished out a team-high five assists in 18 minutes of play.
 
Newcomers Savannah McGill (Lacey, Wash.) and Faith Turner (Auburn, Wash.) both chipped in six points apiece. McGill added nine rebounds, an assist and the Pioneers only block of the game. Turner also grabbed five boards in her Pioneer debut.
 
SCOUTING HOLY NAMES
The Holy Names Hawks finished the 2016-17 season with a 3-23 record and were picked to finished to finish 14th in the PacWest Preseason Poll. The Hawks fell in their lone exhibition match this season against Sacramento State, 100-53. Alexandra Candelario led Holy Names with 20 points on 7-for-16 shooting fro the field. Elle Burland led HNU in assists with five. East Bay defeated Holy Names 69-28 in their last matchup in December 2015.
 
SCOUTING ACADEMY OF ART
Academy of Art finished the 2016-17 season with a 16-12 record and a 12-8 mark in PacWest play. ART U fell in their exhibition match to #20 UC Davis, 77-34. The Urban Knights were led by seven points apiece from Helena Otis, Jazzlyn Brewster and Pre'Franz Dominick. East Bay is 1-7 in their last eight meeting against ART U.