TURLOCK, Calif., -- The Cal State East Bay women's basketball team opened the Warrior Classic in Turlock, Calif. with a 60-59 loss in dramatic fashion to Notre Dame De Namur.
 
After the Pioneers trailed by double digits early in the second half, the final 30 seconds of the ball game were as tense as they come. Freshman Zhane Duckett drove to the basket for a beautiful up and under layup to put the Pioneers ahead 59-57 with just under five seconds to play. Then out of the timeout, NDNU's Auren Isaacson sunk a falling buzzer beater three from the left corner to give the Argonauts the one-point victory.
 
The Pioneers were strong again off the bench as they outscored the Argonaut reserves 38-22 for the contest. East Bay, as they have done all season, played very well on the defense end of the floor. Although Notre Dame De Namur shot 55% from the field, East Bay was able to convert 18 Argonauts turnovers into 27 points of their own.
 
Faith Turner and Celeste Almendarez both led the Pioneers with nine points each off the bench. Turner went a perfect 4-of-4 from the field, including sinking her first career three pointer on her first ever attempt. She also grabbed two rebounds and a steal in 17 minutes of action. Almendarez shot 4-of-5 from the floor, with three rebounds, two assists and a steal.
 
The battle in the paint was a wash for both squads as NDNU narrowly out rebounded CSUEB 20 to 18 for the ball game. But East Bay responded by dominating the scoring inside the painted area 28 to 20 over Notre Dame.
 
The teams had identical first and second quarters as the Argonauts scored 15 points in each of those periods, while the Pioneers notched 12 points in both of those quarters. Notre Dame was able to take their biggest lead of the game, which was 10, in the third quarter when they outscored East Bay 11-9. But the Pioneers answered with an explosive 4th quarter tallying 26 points, which is a season high mark for any quarter this season.
 
A quartet of Pioneers compiled six points apiece for the team. Madison Schiller finished with six points as she led CSUEB with four assists to go along with two rebounds and a steal. Morgan Greene also scored six points while corralling three rebounds and two assists.
 
Kincso Kelemen tallied six points on a perfect 2-of-2 from three-point range, improving her season average to 50%. Mina Tameilau chipped in six points, three rebounds and a steal.
 
The Pioneers will return to Turlock tomorrow November 16 to wrap up action in the Warrior Classic when they face the Holy Names Hawks at 5:00 p.m. in the Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena.