HAYWARD, Calif. -- After an exhilarating trip to Alaska last weekend, the Cal State East Bay women's basketball team is back in the Bay Area for a pair of games to bookend Thanksgiving week.

The Pioneers visit Cal Maritime in Vallejo for a non-conference showdown with the Keelhaulers on Tuesday evening at 5:30 p.m. Then following the holiday, they return to Pioneer Gymnasium to host Cal State San Marcos on Saturday afternoon in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) opener for both teams.

WEEK IN REVIEW
The Pioneers made the long trek up to the great Alaskan north for a tough test at the annual Seawolf Hoops Classic in Anchorage. They lost to the host Alaska Anchorage, the No. 6 ranked team in the nation, on Friday evening, falling behind early, but then playing the Seawolves basically even over the last three quarters. Newcomer Regina Sankey had a breakout performance in the defeat, scoring 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting in just 10 minutes off the bench. 

East Bay battled Alaska Fairbanks the following day and earned a 63-57 victory on the strength of a monster game from senior Savannah McGill. She scored a career high 27 points on 9-for-13 shooting, including a 4-for-6 performance from three-point range. She also filled up the scoresheet with 15 rebounds, four assists, three blocks, and three steals.

LOCKING DOWN
CSUEB has been impressive defensively through the first two weeks of the season, holding teams to just 57.8 points per game. Opponents are shooting just 36 percent from the field and 26 percent on three-points against them. The Pioneers also rank No. 3 among CCAA teams in rebounding margin, and they have forced the second-most turnovers of any team in the league.

CONFERENCE CALL
After a relatively brief non-conference slate, East Bay launches into its CCAA schedule this weekend. The Pioneers were picked to finish third in the preseason coaches poll, and they enter this season having qualified for the CCAA postseason each of the last seven years. With Pioneer Gymnasium set to play host to the 2018-19 CCAA Tournament, the team is aiming to make it eight straight.

CATCHING UP WITH CAL MARITIME
The Keelhaulers are coming off two straight losses to UC Santa Cruz and William Jessup, but they do have a victory over Eastern Oregon, the No. 7 ranked team in NAIA. They have been excellent defensively, holding opponents to just 54 points per game. Maritime has four players averaging double figures in scoring, led by Tal Webb (12.7 ppg, 38% 3FG) and Samantha James (11.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg). 

SCOUTING SAN MARCOS
The Cougars were picked to finish eighth in the CCAA by the head coaches, and they're off to a 2-1 start in non-conference play with wins over Hawaii Pacific and Concordia Irvine sandwiched around a loss to Simon Fraser. San Marcos is out-scoring teams by an average of 7.0 points per game and shooting an impressive 43.5 percent from the field collectively. Emma Forel has been one of the CCAA's top players so far, averaging 15.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 65.6 percent. The Pioneers and Cougars split their two matchups in 2017-18, with both teams winning at home in extremely tight contests.