ARCATA, Calif. – As the stretch run approaches in the regular season for the Cal State East Bay women's basketball team, the Pioneers played the first of two on the road Thursday evening. Coming out on top was the Pioneers with a 90-68 CCAA win over Cal Poly Humboldt.
Jaela Richardson scored a season-high 30 points and reached a third consecutive double double with 10 rebounds. Also,
Payton Sterk tied a Pioneer record for 3-pointers in a game with seven on Thursday.
Though the Pioneers led for much of the first quarter, they only finished the first 10 minutes ahead 23-19.
The second quarter saw the Pioneers pull away much with the performance beyond the arc from Sterk. In a span of less than four minutes ot start the second quarter, Sterk made four 3-pointers, accounting for the first 12 points in the quarter for Cal State East Bay. She added two more baskets from beyond the arc in the quarter, as the Pioneers took a 52-33 lead into halftime.
The third quarter was even at 21-21, but Richardson scored 14 of the Pioneers' 21 points in the quarter.
A double-digit lead was maintained by the Pioneers in the fourth quarter, as they pulled away for a 90-68 win.
- Richardson's 30 points came from a 12-for-20 performance from the floor and 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Her 10 rebounds led her to her third straight double double.
- Sterk went 7-for-9 from beyond the arc, and finished with a season-high 25 points. Sterk became the fifth player in program history to make seven 3-pointers in a game and the first since Shomari Harris did in January 2017.
- Finishing with 14 points for the Pioneers was Grace Campbell.
- Defensively, Richardson had a block and a steal.
- After Thursday's action in the CCAA, the Pioneers gained one game in the standings, and are in seventh place. Sonoma State sits in sixth place, representing the final spot to qualify for the CCAA Tournament.
- Scoring 17 points each for the Lumberjacks were Madison Perry and Jayci Bayne.
Cal State East Bay head coach
Jenny Thigpin following the Pioneers' third straight win:
"Tonight we came out from the jump and played our style of basketball. It was key to play well early, especially on the road and it carried us throughout the game. It will be important for us to move to the next one and look to come out the same way in another important game on the road."
Cal State East Bay: 11-10, 8-9 CCAA
Cal Poly Humboldt: 9-12, 7-10 CCAA
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UP NEXT FOR CAL STATE EAST BAY |
Saturday is a very important matchup for the Pioneers in terms of the CCAA standings, as they take on Sonoma State in Rohnert Park. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. from The Wolves' Den. SSU holds the sixth spot in the standings with only one game separating the Pioneers and Seawolves. On December 1, Cal State East Bay defeated Sonoma State, 56-51.
