HAYWARD, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay women's basketball team is riding a hot streak as they continue their California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) schedule with two tough tests this week. 

The Pioneers put their perfect 5-0 home record on the line Thursday evening when they host Cal State San Marcos at 5:30 p.m. They're back in action on Saturday for one of the biggest games of the season, a 1:30 p.m. matinee against first-place UC San Diego in a rematch of last year's CCAA championship game. 

After an uneven start to the season with several close losses -- including a 74-71 defeat at the hands of CSUSM back on Nov. 30 -- East Bay has won six of its last seven games. Last week, the Pioneers turned in a stellar defensive effort in a 58-51 win over Sonoma State on Tuesday. They returned to the court Saturday and came out victorious in a thrilling game against Stanislaus State, capturing the 73-71 win as Elayshia Woolridge hit a three-pointer at the buzzer. 

Woolridge has enjoyed a breakout season thus far as a junior, scoring in double figures in 10 of her last 11 games. She ranks second in the team in scoring (13.6 ppg) and field goal percentage (.439) and third in rebounding (4.1 rpg). She's also sixth among all CCAA players averaging 3.9 assists per contest.

Saturday was also a memorable evening for junior newcomer Kayla Blair, who scored a season-high 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting. 

The biggest star of the week, and the season, for the Pioneers has been redshirt sophomore Morgan Greene. She captured her first career CCAA Player of the Week award on Tuesday after averaging 11.5 points and 14.0 rebounds and shooting 65 percent from the field in the two games. The Phoenix, Ariz. native now ranks No. 4 in the nation in rebounding (12.2 rpg) and No. 2 in double-doubles (12). She leads the conference in both those categories, and her field goal percentage of .549 ranks second. 

The Pioneers are holding teams to 38.3 percent from the field this season and allowing 61.8 points per game, fifth-best in the conference. They will look to continue that strong defensive play against San Marcos, which comes into Hayward after splitting a pair of games last week at home. East Bay will be looking for revenge after the Cougars rallied for a three-point win when the teams met earlier this season, one of just three victories in 2017-18 for CSUSM. The Cougars have been without leading scorer and rebounder Savannah Camp, who has missed the last five games with an injury. Raegan Little has been the team's top offensive player in her stead, averaging 10.2 points and 4.4 rebounds this season.

On Saturday the Pioneers will battle UCSD, the team with whom they've jockeyed for CCAA supremacy over the last three seasons. In 2015-16, the two squads tied for the regular season championship, and then the Pioneers beat the Tritons in the tournament semifinals en route to their first CCAA postseason title. Last season, UCSD finished one game ahead of East Bay for first place in the regular season, but the Pioneers got revenge in March, topping the Tritons in the CCAA championship game to capture back-to-back titles. 

UCSD is off to an outstanding start to this season with a perfect record in CCAA play. They're out-scoring teams by 12.5 points per game and lead the conference with a .432 team field goal percentage. The Tritons are paced by the formidable frontcourt of Dalayna Sampton (14.7 ppg, 10.3 rpg, .527 FG%) and Mikayla Williams (12.9 ppg, 9.3 rpg, .503 FG%) and senior point guard Taylor Tanita leads the CCAA averaging 6.1 assists per game.