POMONA, Calif., -- The Cal State East Bay women's basketball team opened the season ending road trip with a tough 60-53 loss to Cal Poly Pomona Thursday evening, in Kellogg Gym.
 
With the loss, the Pioneers fall to fifth place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) standings with a 16-11 overall record on the season and a 12-9 mark in league play.
 
Both teams came out on fire after the opening tip but it would the hometown Broncos that lead by ten after the first quarter. CSUEB would respond by outscoring CPP 15-5 in the second quarter as both squads headed into the intermission with a 26-26 tie.
 
The Pioneers would keep up their offensive pressure in the third quarter and even leading the Broncos by eight points at the start of the final quarter of play. Cal Poly would outscore the Pioneers 24-12 in the fourth quarter on 66.7 percent shooting, while holding the East Bay to just 35.7 percent shooting from the field.
 
Senior guard Kayley Hsiung paced the Pioneers with 15 points, while knocking down a trio of three-pointers. The Bakersfield native added a team-high four assists with four rebounds, two steals and a block.
 
Neither team was particularly careful with possession of the ball as the squads combined for 43 total turnovers. East Bay was able to score 14 points off 21 Cal Poly turnover while the Broncos converted 22 Pioneer turnovers into 21 points. CSUEB was narrowly out rebounded 37-34 for the ballgame but won the points inside the painted area 24-22 over CPP.
 
Regina Sankey led the Pioneer reserves with 13 points and seven rebounds on 4-for-8 shooting for the contest. The senior from San Jose went a perfect 4-for-4 from the foul lone to go with two assists and two steals as she finished with 13 of the East Bay 15 bench points. Sankey has scored in double figures in three of the Pioneers last four games.
 
Kincso Kelemen compiled 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting including 3-for-5 shooting from beyond the three-point line. Morgan Greene finished with nine points and seven rebounds.
 
Despite the loss, the Pioneers still have a chance to clinch home court in the opening round of the CCAA Playoffs next week. East Bay will look to right the ship in their regular season finale against Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday evening, February 29 in Coussoulis Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.