The Pioneers then take a break from their California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) schedule to host Point Loma Wednesday afternoon at Pioneer Gym in the final non-conference game of the season. After that, the team will take a break for the holidays before returning to the court Dec. 30 to close out the calendar year at Cal State Monterey Bay. 

WEEKLY RECAP
The Pioneers hit the road last week and kept their overall record right at the .500 mark by going 1-1 for the fifth straight week to open the season. Their first CCAA game of the year away from Pioneer Gym was a huge success, as CSUEB turned in a suffocating defensive performance to defeat Sonoma State, 55-38, last Thursday. They forced 20 turnovers and held the Seawolves to just 30.2 percent shooting from the field.

Two nights later, the Pioneers came up short at Chico State to drop their CCAA record to 2-3. They faced a huge deficit after the first quarter and played pretty well the rest of the way, but weren't able to slow down a hot-shooting Wildcat team that racked up 78 points and improved to 6-1 for the season.

Senior Elayshia Woolridge scored in double figures in both contests en route to earning CSUEB Female Athlete of the Week honors. She filled up the scoresheet with 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists, going 3-for-6 from three-point range, against Sonoma, then added 12 more points at Chico. The 2017-18 All-CCAA honoree has been East Bay's leading scorer in conference play this year, averaging 11.4 ppg in five games. 

HOW LOW CAN YOU GO
Low-scoring contests have been the modus operandi of the Pioneers during the early part of the season. They rank 12th in the conference in scoring offense, but they have allowed the fewest points per game of any CCAA team, holding opponents to 57.2 per night. Teams are shooting 35.9 percent from the field agains them, which ranks third in the league. Thursday's win at Sonoma was the team's third victory of the year in which they held an opponent under 50 points.

KEEPING THE FAITH
Sophomore Faith Turner impressed on the recent road trip, scoring in double figures in back-to-back games for the first time in her career. The Auburn, Wash. native netted 10 points in both contests, going 9-for-13 from the field in total. Turner is shooting 62.2 percent from the field this season, which is the highest mark in the conference, although she doesn't have enough attempts to officially qualify.

LEADERBOARD WATCH
After the Pioneers lost Morgan Greene, the nation's second-leading rebounder last year, to a season-ending injury, senior Savannah McGill has stepped up to fill much of that production. McGill, who is the all-time rebounding champion in the history of the Northwest Athletic Conference from her time at South Puget Sound College, currently ranks seventh in the CCAA averaging 8.5 boards per game. 

Freshman Delia Moore has made her presence felt in her rookie season, particularly on the defensive end. She ranks sixth among CCAA players with 16 steals so far this season.

On a more historical note, Woolridge is creeping up on the program record books in her fourth season. With more than half the slate remaining, she is very close to cracking the top-10 all-time in points, field goals, and made free throws. 

SCOUTING SF STATE
The Gators got off to a rough start, losing their first four games of the season in non-conference action. They have been competitive since starting CCAA play, earning two straight wins over Cal State San Marcos and Cal State San Bernardino heading into Monday's game. SF State is allowing 73.5 points per game, which is second-to-last in the conference, although the average is skewed by a 102-78 loss at UC San Diego. Forward Jhaina Stephens has been one of the top players in the league, shooting 50.4 percent with averages of 13.6 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.

SCOUTING THE SEA LIONS
Similar to SF State, Point Loma got off to a rocky start with five straight losses to open 2018-19. They are 2-2 in conference games since then, coming off a win over Biola and a loss to Asuza Pacific last week. The Sea Lions are shooting 35.3 percent as a team, with much of their scoring coming from just two players. Sydney Peterson averages 17.3 points per game and has knocked down 26 three-pointers, while Cara Liggins contributes 12.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per contest. The Pioneers are 4-3 all-time against Point Loma, but the Sea Lions won the most recent matchup, 78-59, last year in San Diego.