HAYWARD, Calif., -- The Cal State East Bay women's basketball team will take their first road trip of 2019 with California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) matches against Cal Poly Pomona on Thursday, January 10 and Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday, January 12.
 
The Pioneers opened 2019 similar to the fashion the closed 2018, with a CCAA victory. East Bay defeated Cal State Monterey Bay, 64-55 on December 30 in the "Battle of the Bays" and followed up with a 63-48 win over Stanislaus State on January 3.
 
East Bay is currently 7-7 on the season with a 4-4 mark in conference play. The Pioneers are 3-3 in road games and 3-4 in games inside Pioneer Stadium.
 
WEEK IN REVIEW
The Cal State East Bay women's basketball turned in an outstanding defensive effort on Thursday evening at Pioneer Gym and pulled away in the second half for a 63-48 win over visiting Stanislaus State.
 
It's the second straight win for the Pioneers, who open the New Year on a high note by evening up their record at 7-7 overall and 4-4 in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) games.
 
The score was tight through the first half despite a poor shooting performance by East Bay, which shot 28 percent from the field in the first two quarters. Stanislaus led by as many as seven midway through the second, but senior Courtenay Brown led a mini-run by scoring all five of her points in the last two minutes before halftime, sending the teams to the break with the Warriors ahead by just two.
 
The momentum flipped in the second half towards the home bench, as the Pioneers locked down on defense and held Stanislaus to just seven points in the third quarter. Meanwhile, redshirt sophomore Madison Schiller caught fire to lead the East Bay offense, scoring 13 of her career-high 17 points in the second half. She finished as the game's leading scorer, going 7-for-10 from the floor.
 
The Pioneers shot 55 percent as a team after halftime, while holding Stanislaus to just 8-for-29 from the field during that span. They also won the rebounding battle, led by senior Savannah McGill, who notched a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
 
Regina Sankey added 10 points on 3-for-6 shooting off the bench. Elayshia Woolridge contributed eight points, five of which came of crucial possessions down the stretch to help the Pioneers seal the victory.
 
East Bay also turned in its best effort of the season from the free throw line, as seven different players combined to go 19-for-20 at the stripe.
 
 
 
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 10.7 rebounds per game and tenth in the CCAA with 13 blocks. She has seven double doubles on the season including four consecutive double doubles.
 
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 eight games. Woolridge is averaging 10.0 points, 2.3 assists and 3.9 rebounds in conference action.
 
 
Pioneers rank among the top defensive teams in the CCAA. They're first in the league in scoring defense (57.9 ppg) and opponent field goal percentage (.358). They have also been effective defending the three-point arc, holding teams to 28.5 percent. East Bay has performed impressively on the glass, ranking third among the 13 CCAA schools in rebounding defense (365.9) and second in the league in total rebounds with 560.
 
SCOUTING CAL POLY POMONA
The Cal Poly Pomona Broncos are currently second in the in the CCAA with a 10-2 overall record and a 6-1 in conference play after back-to-back close wins over Humboldt State (77-72) and Cal State San Bernardino (71-70). Jordyn Shane is leading the Broncos with 15.8 points and 2.7 assists. Rebecca Islas adding 14.3 points and 8.8 rebounds for Cal Poly Pomona.
 
 
SCOUTING CAL STATE SAN BERNARDINO
The Cal State San Bernardino Coyotes enter the contest against the Pioneers with a 4-8 mark on on the season with a 3-5 record in CCAA action after defeating Chico State to end 2018 before falling to Cal Poly Pomona to begin 2019. Jasmine Sauser is tops on the Coyotes with 15.8 points and 2.2 assists. Arianna Knox is chipping in 8.7 points and 5.9 rebounds for San Bernardino.