HAYWARD, Calif., -- The Cal State East Bay women's basketball opened their 2018-19 campaign with an impressive 51-47 victory over Western Oregon to kickoff the Veteran's Day Classic on Friday afternoon in Pioneer Gymnasium.
 
The Pioneers found themselves down 47-44 with just under two minutes to play when Kayley Hsiung (Bakersfield, Calif.) tied the game with a thee-point field goal from the left wing. Then with less than a minute to go in regulation, newcomer Courtenay Brown (Oakland, Calif.) put the Pioneers ahead 50-47 with a three-point basket from the right wing.
 
Hsiung finished with seven points on 3-for-8 shooting with four rebounds and two assists in 26 minutes of action. Brown was one of two Pioneers to notch double figures with 10 points, including two three-pointers and three steals in 28 minutes off the bench.
 
East Bay would go on to force a five-second violation before icing the contest with late game free throws. Despite the clutch shooting from distance in the final minutes of action, the Pioneers only shot 3-for-17 (17.6%) from beyond the arc.
 
The Pioneers more than made up for their tough shooting night with stout defense. East Bay forced the visiting Wolves to shoot just 32.6% (15-for-46) including a porous 1-for-9 from three-point range (11.1%). CSUEB also forces WOU into 20 turnovers while allowing only nine assists.
 
The ball game featured six ties and nine lead changes over with neither team leading by more than six points. But it was the Pioneers bench points and paint production that was the major outlier in the victory. East Bay won the points in the paint battle 30-12 while also outscoring the Wolves 25-4 in bench points.
 
Junior forward Morgan Greene (Phoenix, Ariz.) collected her first double-double of the season as she grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds to go along with 11 points. Greene also paced the Pioneers with four steals.
 
Sophomore center Faith Turner (Auburn, Wash.) tallied eight points on 3-for-4 shooting from the floor and three rebounds in 13 minutes. Madison Schiller (Ridgecrest, Calif.) and Ruobing Bai (Beijing, China) scored four points each. Schiller added four steals.
 
The Pioneers will wrap up their Veteran's Day Classic weekend with a home contest against Concordia University (Ore.) on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. in Pioneer Gymnasium.