TURLOCK, Calif. - Cal State East Bay women's basketball traveled to Turlock to take part in the Warrior Classic, taking on Simon Fraser University in the opening game of the tournament on Friday on the campus of Stanislaus State. The Pioneers came up short against the Red Leafs 67-65.
 

GAME SUMMARY

The Red Leafs opened the game on a 9-2 run, capped by a Makenna Gardner jumper, with 7:07 left in the quarter. The Pioneers then responded with a 5-0 spurt, capped by a Jaela Richardson jumper with 3:41 left in the quarter, to trim the Red Leafs' lead to 9-7. The Pioneers would close the deficit to as little as one in the opening quarter, but SFU led 19-17 through one quarter.
 
In the second quarter, the Red Leafs would hold the Pioneers at arms' length. The Red Leafs would gain a six point lead on two occasions; the second occasion at 25-19 on a Sophia Wisotzki with 8:28 left in the half. CSUEB ended the frst half on a 10-5 spurt, capped by an Abigail Cooper jumper, trimming the Red Leafs' lead to one, at 30-29, at halftime.
 
Cal State East Bay would take its first lead of the game, at 31-30, on a Richardson jumper with 9:48 left in the quarter and build it to 45-40, on a Taylor Linzie free throw with 5:29 left in the quarter. The Red Leafs though answered with a 10-2 run, capped by a Gemma Cutler layup with 1:21 left, to take the lead at 50-47 which would end up being the score heading into the final quarter.
 
The Pioneers opened the fourth quarter on an 11-2 run, capped by a Richardson layup with 5:13 left, for a 58-52 lead. The Red Leafs would then go on a 14-7 run to take the lead at 66-65, on a Wisotzki three-pointer with 17 seconds left. The Pioneers would have two chances to win at the end of regulation but were denied on both opportunities.
 

NOTABLE STATS

• Richardson scored a game-high 28 points for the Pioneers, going 7-for-10 from the floor and also led the team with nine rebounds.
• Linzie had 13 points and Payton Sterk had 10 in the loss for CSUEB.
• Sterk had a career-high seven assists on Friday. 
• The Pioneers shot 40.3 percent from the floor, 27.3 percent from beyond the arc and went 8-for-11 from the free throw line.
• Defensively with two steals each were Camryn Washington and Lailah Carey. 
• Cal State East Bay outrebounded Simon Fraser, 43-39

POSTGAME QUOTE

Cal State East Bay head coach Jenny Thigpin following Friday's loss to Simon Fraser: 
"We played hard and gave a good effort for a good chunk of the game. We put ourselves in position to win but came up short."
 

RECORDS

Cal State East Bay: 1-2
Simon Fraser: 3-3
 

UP NEXT FOR CAL STATE EAST BAY

The Pioneers will wrap up their games in the Warrior Classic tomorrow as they take on Academy of Art at 1 p.m. from Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena.