CHICO, Calif., -- Junior Morgan Greene hit nothing but net on a jumper as the final buzzer lifting the Cal State East Bay women's basketball team to a dramatic, 63-62 road victory over Chico State Saturday night in Art Acker Gymnasium. 
 
The win keeps the Pioneers unbeaten in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play at 2-0 and improves their overall record to 4-2 on the season. Head Coach Shanele Stires is proud of how her team has played down the stretch in some close ball games.
 
"The team has really been working been working extremely hard," explained Stires. "We have dropped a couple games we felt like we did not perform our best. We developed a real belief in one another and what we are doing. Morgan is a huge part of that and to see her come up big with the game winner is such a boost for our team and players. Especially considering everything she's been through. We still have a great deal of improvement ahead of us, but we are happy with the start of conference play."
 
The teams exchanged the lead 21 times as East Bay led by as many as seven twice early in the second quarter. After being outscored 15-9 in the fourth quarter, the Pioneers found themselves down a point with just 16 seconds left after Maddy Wong sank two free throws on Chico's final possession. Then out of the timeout, the Pioneers drew up the perfect play to get Greene the ball in scoring position as she had no trouble sealing the game for East Bay. 
 
Regina Sankey led all scorers with 18 points in the game while nabbing a career best eight steals, one shy of the Pioneer record for a game. Sankey added five rebounds, a block and three assists, including the pass that led to the Greene game-winning basket. The Pioneers as a whole was a force defensively at the outset, forcing the home team into committing 23 turnovers in the contest. East would score 20 points off of Wildcat errors and hold the home team to just 31 percent shooting for the game, including a dismal 21 percent from three-point range.
 
Morgan Greene was dominant on the glass as she led CSUEB was 10 boards to go along with eight points, three assists and two steals across 29 minutes. Fellow starter Kincso Kelemen only finished with three point but they were probably the most important three points of the game. After being fouled, Kelemen stepped up to the line and sank three consecutive free throws with just three seconds in regulation to force overtime.
 
The East Bay bench mob continued to provide a boost for the Pioneers both offensively and defensively. The CSUEB reserves contributed 29 points to just 11 points from the Chico bench. The Pioneers also notched 30 points inside the painted area while limiting the Wildcats to 14 paint points.
 
Freshman Zhane Duckett paced the Pioneers reserves with 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting with three rebounds, two blocks, an assist and a steal in 24 minutes. Sophomore Delia Moore added eight points and three rebounds through 23 minutes of action.
 
The Pioneers will return to non-conference action when they face Dominican and a rematch against Notre Dame De Namur in the Humboldt Thanksgiving Classic next week.