HAYWARD, Calif., -- The Cal State East Bay women's basketball team will return to home for two California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) games against Humboldt State and Chico State.
 
East Bay will host Humboldt on Thursday, January 17 and conclude the weekend with a match against Chico State on Saturday, January 19. Both games will be held inside of Pioneer Gymnasium.
 
The Pioneers are currently 7-9 on the season with a 4-6 mark in conference play. The Pioneers are 3-5 in road games and 3-4 in games played at home.
 
WEEK IN REVIEW
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.
 
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.
 
The Cal State East Bay women's basketball erased a 14-point deficit to force overtime Saturday afternoon, but ultimately fell on the road to Cal State San Bernardino by a final score of 64-59.
 
It's the second straight heartbreaking defeat on this road trip for the Pioneers, who drop to 7-9 overall this season.
 
It was a defensive battle throughout the contest, and East Bay trailed virtually the entire time. They were down seven at halftime, and the Cougars extended it to double digits in the third quarter. A three-pointer by Regina Sankey at the end of the third sent the Pioneers into the final period trailing by 10.
 
The CSUEB offense finally seem to come to life in the fourth as they staged a furious rally. Elayshia Woolridge led the way, scoring 11 of her game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter. Sankey gave East Bay its first lead of the day with less than a minute left, and Woolridge made it 50-48 Pioneers after a free throw with seven seconds left.
 
It was the highest scoring output of the season for Woolridge, who went 8-for-17 from the floor and 7-for-9 on free throws. Sankey added 11 points, while Kincso Kelemen knocked down a pair of long balls and finished with eight points.
 
The two teams shot nearly identical percentages for the game. East Bay dominated the glass, led by Savannah McGill, who topped all players with 20 rebounds. Unfortunately, the Pioneers hurt themselves by committing 22 turnovers and notching an 11-for-23 performance at the free throw line.
 
PIONEER POINTS
Savannah McGill leads the Pioneers in minutes, scoring, rebounding, assists, and blocks for the season, and she's one of just five CCAA players currently averaging more than 10 rebounds per game. McGill is second in the conference with 11.1 rebounds per game and ninth in the CCAA with 14 blocks. She has seven double doubles on the season including four double doubles in league play.
 
After shooting just 13.7 percent from the field in her first four games, Elayshia Woolridge has come on strong over the last month. Woolridge leads the Pioneers with 11.6 points in CCAA action including double figures scoring in seven of the last ten games.
 
Pioneers rank among the top defensive teams in the CCAA. They're first in the league in scoring defense (58.9 ppg) and second in opponent field goal percentage (.361). They have also been effective defending the three-point arc, holding teams to 27.8 percent. East Bay has performed impressively on the glass, ranking third among the 13 CCAA schools in rebounding defense (36.3) and second in the league in total rebounds with 649.
 
SCOUTING HUMBOLDT STATE
The Humboldt State Lumberjacks enter the matchup against the Pioneers with an 8-5 record on the season and a 6-4 mark in conference action after home wins over Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State L.A. Alexia Thrower leads the Lumberjacks with 15.8 points and 10.6 rebounds. Tyra Turner is adding 13.5 points and 4.6 assists for Humboldt State.
 
SCOUTING CHICO STATE
The Chico State Wildcats head into the contest versus East Bay with a 9-4 overall mark and a 6-4 record in conference play after falling to UC San Diego before bouncing back to defeat SF State. Madison Wong leads Chico State with 11.1 and 3.5 assists per outing. McKena Barker is adding 8.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per contest.