HAYWARD, Calif., -- The Cal State East Bay women's basketball team will enter their first California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) road trip of the 2018 calendar with games near the Bay Area against San Francisco State and Sonoma State.
 
The Pioneers are currently sitting 11-7 on the season with a 7-5 mark in conference action after going 3-1 during their four-game home stand to open the new year.
 
LAST ACTION
It took an extra period, but the Cal State East Bay women's basketball team remained undefeated at home on Thursday evening, rallying for a 67-63 overtime victory over visiting Cal State San Marcos.
 
Junior Elayshia Woolridge buried a clutch three-pointer for the second straight game to force overtime, and sophomore Morgan Greene had a monster night with 19 points and a career-high 24 rebounds.
 
The Pioneers were victorious despite shooting just 31.4 percent from the field and going 2-for-12 from three-point range. However, they were solid at the free throw line (21-for-29), forced 14 turnovers, and held the Cougars to a modest 38.7 percent from the floor.
 
The final buzzer sounded with the teams tied 57-57, forcing five extra minutes of play. The teams traded buckets for the first few minutes of overtime, and with 1:53 left it was tied once again at 63-63. The Pioneers got a defensive stop on the next possession, and then Chamois got to the rim and scored along the baseline to put the home team ahead.
 
The Pioneers then forced a turnover to get the ball back, and Bri Guillory came up with a huge offensive rebound on the other end after Woolridge's layup rimmed out. The Cougars fouled Guillory with just 11 seconds left, and she made two huge free throws to go up by four. CSUSM missed its final two shot attempts, sealing the four-point win for the Pioneers.
 
Greene finished 7-for-12 from the field, adding two blocks and two steals. The reigning CCAA Player of the Week notched her 13th double-double of the season and recorded her first career game with at least 20 rebounds.
 
Woolridge tallied 17 points and seven rebounds, scoring in double figures for the 10th time in her last 12 games. During that span, she's averaging just over 15 points per contest.
 
Guillory contributed 10 points in 32 minutes off the bench, highlighted by a perfect 8-for-8 performance at the foul line. Chamois and junior Kayla Blair added nine points each.
 
The showdown between the two-time defending California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) champion Cal State East Bay women's basketball team and first-place UC San Diego lived up to its billing Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately the Pioneers found themselves on the losing end of a tight game, falling 76-70 at Pioneer Gym.
 
It's the first home loss of 2017-18 for the Pioneers, who opened the season with six straight victories in Hayward. They fall to 11-7 overall this season with a 7-5 mark in CCAA play, still near the top of the standings but now five games behind the undefeated Tritons (15-2, 10-0 CCAA).
 
The contest was tight all afternoon, as UCSD held a single-digit lead most of the way. The Pioneers rallied late in the fourth quarter and led 70-69 with 1:49 left, but couldn't score on their final five possessions as the Tritons escaped with the victory.
 
The Pioneers turned in a much more efficient performance on offense than their last few games, but the visitors had an excellent day shooting the ball as well. UCSD bested East Bay 49 percent to 43 percent from the field, and 42 percent to 39 percent from three-point range. The Tritons also out-rebounded CSUEB 37-34, led by Dalayna Sampton with a game-high 11 boards.
 
East Bay trailed by seven at halftime after allowing 41 points in the first two quarters. They made some effective adjustments on defense in the second half, holding the Tritons to 14 points in the third. Then trailing by nine midway through the fourth, the Pioneers rattled off a 16-6 run to take their only lead of the second half. But three Pioneer turnovers in the final two minutes allowed UCSD to re-take the lead, and the Tritons closed out the game at the free throw line.
 
Elayshia Woolridge was the leading scorer for CSUEB, posting 16 points on 6-for-15 shooting to go with a pair of steals. Kayla Blair and Savannah McGill both had strong performances, scoring 12 points each and hitting a pair from beyond the arc. Blair went 5-for-9 from the floor, while McGill went 4-for-6, doing her damage in just 14 minutes off the bench.
 
Morgan Greene fell short of a double-double for just the fifth time this season. The conference's leading rebounder pulled in nine boards and scored 13 points on 5-for-8 from the field.
 
Senior Janae Chamois added four points, four rebounds, and a team-high four assists, but the Tritons were effective in limiting her opportunities from long distance.
 
PIONEER POINTS
East Bay sophomore forward Morgan Greene (Phoenix, Ariz.) was named the CCAA Women's Basketball Player of the Week (Jan. 8-14) for the second consecutive week. Greene became the first CSUEB basketball player to capture the honor back-to-back weeks since the Pioneers joined the conference in 2009.
 
Greene's career-best rebounding mark of 24 came in a 77-63 overtime victory over the Cougars, in which she also contributed a team-high 19 points. That was her 13th double-double of the season, which leads the CCAA and ranks No. 2 in the nation.
 
For the season, Greene holds the third-highest rebounding average in the nation (12.7 rpg). She also leads the CCAA in field goal percentage (.554) and ranks sixth in scoring (14.2 ppg).
 
Junior guard Elayshia Woolridge (Oakland, Calif.) is averaging 13.9 points and 27.4 through 13 starts this season. Woolridge is leading East Bay with 3.5 assists per contest while shooting 42.7% from the field. She is currently seventh in the conference in total assists.
 
Woolridge has scored in double figures in 14 games this season including 12 of the last 12 games. She has also dished out five or more assists in eight different contests so far. Woolridge is also rebounding at a 4.1 per game clip while sitting second on the Pioneers with 25 steals.
 
Senior Janae Chamois (Eastvale, Calif.) was been shooting lights out from deep this season. Chamois leads the CCAA with 40 made three-pointers on the season at a 36.0% accuracy from beyond the arc. She is tallying 9.5 points per game with 2.2 made three-point field goals. She scored a career-high 22 points and fell one short of the school record with six three-point field goals in a win over Cal Baptist in December 19.
 
SCOUTING SAN FRANCISCO STATE
The SF State Gators are currently sitting 4-11 on the season with a 2-10 mark in conference play. SF State is coming off back-to-back losses to Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State LA. Jhaina Stephens leads the Gators with 15.6 points and 10.4 rebounds. Rachel Iozzla is adding 9.3 points and and 5.6 assists for SF State.
 
East Bay won the earlier meeting between the two teams, 59-49 in Pioneer Gymnasium on November 21.
 
SCOUTING SONOMA STATE
The Sonoma State Seawolves boast a record of 6-9 so far this season and are 3-8 in CCAA action. In their last two outings the Seawolves defeated Cal State LA, 62-45 before falling to Cal State Dominguez Hills. Ugochi Anudokem leads the Seawolves with 13.7 points and 8.1 rebounds. Madison Burroughs is chipping in 12.3 points and 2.9 assists for Sonoma State. The Pioneers defeated Sonoma State, 58-51 on January 2 in Pioneer Gymnasium.