POMONA, Calif. -- The Cal State East Bay women's basketball team gave Cal Poly Pomona a great battle on the road Thursday evening, but came up just short by a final score of 68-66.

The Pioneers had a chance to win on the final possession, but senior Elayshia Woolridge's long three-pointer was just long, hitting the back rim at Kellogg Gymnasium. The loss drops CSUEB below the .500 mark at 7-8 for the season, while the Broncos narrowly avoid the upset to improve to 11-2. 

The Pioneers grabbed an early lead as they started the contest hot from three-point range. They led by as many as nine before CPP cut into its deficit at the end of the first quarter. The game was extremely tight the rest of the way, and it was a strong effort by the visitors, who rebounded well collectively against a talented Bronco squad and got offensive contributions from nearly everyone on the roster.

East Bay trailed by eight at halftime, but they made some effective adjustments on defense and held Pomona to just eight points in the third quarter and 24 total points in the second half.

Kincso Kelemen, who opened the game by burying a pair of threes in the first few minutes, tied the game at 56-56 on a jumper with seven minutes left in the fourth. The teams traded a few baskets, and then after a fastbreak layup, Pomona held a 67-64 advantage with under two minutes left. 

Kelemen knocked down another one with 56 seconds left, just inside the three-point arc, to bring East Bay within one. They forced a turnover with 24 seconds left, giving them a chance to win on the final possession, but they turned it back over attempting to inbound. 

After a foul, CPP's Rebecca Islas made one of two free throws, which gave the Pioneers another chance trailing by two with 13 seconds left. They couldn't quite get the shot they wanted, leaving Woolridge to shoot it from well beyond the arc to beat the buzzer. It was a decent look, but rimmed out to end the game.

It was a strong performance by Woolridge nonetheless, who made 3-of-6 from long distance and finished with 12 points. Kelemen led the squad in scoring with 13, going 3-for-4 from three-point range.

Savannah McGill also reached double figures with 10 points despite a tough shooting night. The senior came up with some big rebounds down the stretch and finished with a team-high eight boards to go along with four assists.

Madison Schiller added seven points on 3-for-6 shooting, Faith Turner and Regina Sankey both scored six, and Kayley Hsiung and Ruobing Bai contributed five points apiece for a CSUEB squad that shot 39.7 percent overall.

Next up, the Pioneers return to action Saturday afternoon as their road trip continues with a short drive down to Cal State San Bernardino.