HAYWARD, Calif., -- The Cal State East Bay women's basketball team will open their 2019-20 campaign as competitors in the Western Oregon Conference Challenge, November 8-9 inside of the WOU New PE Building.
 
East Bay will open the season with a match against Concordia University (Ore.) on Friday afternoon at 4:00 before wrapping up the weekend with a contest against tournament host Western Oregon on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.
 
The Pioneers kicked off their the 2018-19 season host both of theses squads for their Veteran's Day in Pioneer Gymnasium. CSUEB opened the tournament with a 51-47 victory over Western Oregon before falling to Concordia (Ore.) in the tournament finale.
 
Cal State East Bay was picked to finish fifth in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Preseason Coaches Poll. East Bay has been picked to finish in the top 5 of the league in each of the last three seasons, but is coming off a solid 2018-19 campaign.
 
Under the guidance of fourth-year head coach Shanele Stires, CSUEB carries high expectations coming off a 14-16 season with 10-12 mark in conference action that included another appearance in the CCAA Tournament Semifinals. But success is no guarantee, and the Pioneers will have a much different look this season.
 
The Pioneers return three senior and three juniors from last year's squad. Morgan Greene, Kincso Kelemen, Kayley Hsiung, Madison Schiller, Delia Moore, Faith Turner and Regina Sankey all look to match their veteran experience with newcomers Zhane Duckett, Cristina Oliva, Celeste Almendarez, Mina Tameilau, Madison Adams and Blaysen Varnadoe.
 
"We have a lot of new faces that are trying to establish themselves," said Stires. "But we're also a really deep bunch. And that is something that were are going to have to rely on as we move through this season. We've had a week to focus and prepare for this upcoming week. But the most important thing is we just want to continue getting better everyday."
 
The Pioneers went 1-1 in their exhibition season falling ton UC Davis 79-56 on the road before racking up an 89-58 home victory over Menlo College this past Saturday.
 
Senior Regina Sankey averaged 12.5 points with three rebounds and two steals on 80% shooting from the foul line. Madison Schiller tallied 11 points, four rebounds and a 72 showing from the charity stripe across both exhibition matches.
 
Newcomer Madison Adams collected 10.5 points on 50% shooting from the field and beyond the arc through two games. Junior Faith Turner is notching 9.5 points through both games with five total rebounds and a block.
 
Kayley Hsiung is putting in 7.0 points and 2.5 rebounds with two total assists and two steals while Celeste Almendarez is adding 3.5 points, 3.0 assists and 7.0 rebounds through the exhibition season.
 
SCOUTING CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY (ORE.)
The Concordia University Cavaliers went 16-13 overall in 2018-19 and tied for fifth place in the GNAC after going 11-9 through league contests. Concordia is returning eight players from last season's playoff squad. Oilvia Vezaldenos, a transfer from Chabot College, was chosen as a unanimous preseason all-conference selection, after leading the GNAC with 16.0 points per game in 2018-19. The Cavaliers took on powerhouse No. 6 ranked Oregon State Beavers to open exhibition play falling 106-45 and to Boise State 79-39 to conclude their exhibition season.
 
SCOUTING WESTERN OREGON
The Western Oregon Wolves are coming off an 8-18 season where they went 5-15 in conference play in 2018-19. WOU was picked to finish 10^th in the 2019-20 GNAC Preseason Women's Basketball Coaches Poll. The Western Oregon roster features eight underclassmen, including four freshmen and four sophomores. Junior Keyonna Jones boasts the most starting experience of all returners, having started 25 of the team's 26 games a year ago, averaging 10.2 points on 42.4 percent field goal shooting.  Western Oregon played an exhibition last Saturday against Pacific University, falling 73-68 to the Boxers in Monmouth.