HAYWARD, Calif., -- The Cal State East Bay women's basketball team will open the 2019 calendar year with a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) match against Stanislaus State on Thursday, January 3 in Pioneer Gymnasium.
 
East Bay hit a bit of a rough patch heading into the holiday break with three straight losses, capped off by a 69-68 overtime heartbreaker vs. Point Loma last Wednesday. However, the Pioneers bounced back with a 64-55 victory over Monterey Bay in the "Battle of the Bays" to close out 2018.
 
The Pioneers are currently 6-7 on the season with a 3-4 mark in conference play. East Bay is 3-3 in road game and 2-4 in games inside Pioneer Gymnasium.
 
WEEK IN REVIEW
The Cal State East Bay women's basketball entered back into the win column with a 64-55 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) road victory over Cal State Monterey Bay on Sunday afternoon, December 30 at the Kelp Bed.
 
The Pioneers wrapped up the 2018 calendar year by picking up two points in the "Battle of the Bays." With the victory CSUEB improves to 6-7 on the season with a 3-4 mark in conference action.
 
East Bay turned in a solid performance as they outscored Monterey Bay in three of the four quarters. The tough CSUEB defense held the Otters to just 37.5% (18-for-48) shooting from the field including 33.3% (4-for-12) from three-point range.
 
East Bay forced the home team Monterey Bay into 23 turnovers. The Pioneers did great job a capitalizing on the Otters mistakes as they scored 23 points off those turnovers.
 
Senior Savannah McGill (Lacey, Wash.) notched her sixth double-double and third double double in as many games as she finished with 15 points on 7-for-13 shooting to go along with 13 rebounds. Ten of her rebound came on the defensive end as she added a block and three assists.
 
Fellow senior Elayshia Woolridge (Oakland, Calif.) also tallied 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the floor through 35 minutes of action. Woolridge dished out a game-high five assists while adding two steals and a rebound.
 
Despite being outrebounded 39-29 for the game, the Pioneers did find success in the painted area outscoring the Otters 28-22.
 
Junior Kayley Hsiung (Bakersfield, Calif.) tied a season-high with 11 points while leading East Bay with 3-for-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Hsuing three made three-pointers also tied a season best mark as she added five rebounds, two steals and an assist.
 
The Pioneers shot 48.1% (26-for-54) from the field for the game. Sophomore Faith Turner (Auburn, Wash.) had a lot to do with the good field goal percentage as she shot 4-of-6 from the field in 23 minutes. Turner scored eight points and grabbed four rebounds with a block.
 
Regina Sankey (San Jose, Calif.) led the CSUEB reserves with five points, two steals and two rebounds. Courtenay Brown (Oakland, Calif.) chipped in four points on 2-for-3 shooting.
 
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 third in the conference with 10.6 rebounds per game and seventh in the CCAA with 12 blocks. She has six double doubles on the season including three in the last three games.
 
After shooting just 13.7 percent from the field in her first four games, Elayshia Woolridge has come on strong over the last month. She has scored in double figures in five of the last seven games, and is coming off one of her best performances of the season with 14 points on 7-for-12 shooting against Point Loma followed by 15 points and five assists on 6-for-9 shooting from the floor.
 
Pioneers rank among the top defensive teams in the CCAA. They're first in the league in scoring defense (58.6 ppg) and second opponent field goal percentage (.360). They have also been effective defending the three-point arc, holding teams to 28.9 percent. And in spite of Morgan Greene's injury absence, East Bay has performed impressively on the glass, ranking second among the 13 CCAA schools in rebounding defense (36.2) and tops in the league in total rebounds with 523.
 
SCOUTING STANISLAUS STATE
The Stanislaus State Warriors enter their contest against the Pioneers with a 2-8 record on the season and a 1-5 in CCAA action after closing 2018 with a loss to Cal State San Bernardino. Kyanna Davis leads Stan State with 12.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Angelica Baylon is adding 11.1 points and 4.1 assists for the Warriors.