HAYWARD, Calif. - On Thursday evening inside Pioneer Gymnasium, the Cal State East Bay women's basketball team trailed by 14 points entering the fourth quarter, only to come back to force overtime. In the extra session,
Jaela Richardson finished a driving layup with 1.9 seconds remaining to give the Pioneers a 73-72 CCAA win over Cal State LA.
The opening quarter was close between the two teams, as the Golden Eagles finished with a 21-19 lead. Richardson scored the Pioneers' first 10 points of the game and had 14 of CSUEB's 19 points.
In the second quarter, the game was fairly even, as CSULA led 32-31 at the 2:28 mark. Then, the Golden Eagles scored the next nine points for a 10-point lead. But to close the first half, Cal State East Bay scored five unanswered points and trailed 41-36 at halftime.
Cal State LA went on a run late in the third quarter of 10 unanswered points, taking a 60-46 lead into the final quarter.
Trailing 69-58 late in the fourth quarter,
Payton Sterk made a 3-pointer at the 2:15 mark which sparked a 10-0 run to finish regulation, as the tying basket was a putback layup by
Taylor Linzie with 3.6 seconds left in regulation. CSUEB and the Golden Eagles went to overtime with a 69-69 tie.
After trading baskets in the first four-plus minutes of overtime, Nicole Flennaugh made one free throw to give CSULA a 72-71 lead with 6.2 seconds left in the extra session.
After the Pioneers called a timeout, advancing the inbounding point into the front court, Richardson took the inbound pass and drove to the basket for a layup that gave the Pioneers a 73-72 lead. The Golden Eagles had one last chance to score, but an unsuccessful inbound pass resulted in a turnover and the Pioneers prevailed with a 73-72 victory on Thursday.
- Richardson finished with 22 points, going 10-for-17 from the floor with two made free throws. Her 11 rebounds gave her a double double for the fourth time this season.
- Also scoring in double figures for the Pioneers was Sterk with 19 points.
- Defensively, Sterk had a block and three steals.
- Lily Buggs led CSULA in scoring with 22 points and had 10 rebounds.
- CSUEB shot 43.9 percent from the floor to the Golden Eagles' 36.8 percent.
- The battle for rebounds was even at 44 for each team.
Cal State East Bay head coach
Jenny Thigpin following Thursday's comeback win:
"I'm proud of the way we fought throughout the game. We showed great character, especially in the fourth quarter when we got down but we found a way ad it is a great start to our weekend but our job isn't done as we have another one to win."
Cal State East Bay: 6-8, 4-4 CCAA
Cal State LA: 5-8, 2-6 CCAA
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UP NEXT FOR CAL STATE EAST BAY |
The Pioneers return to action this coming Saturday for the final game of their current homestand when they host Cal State Dominguez Hills. Tipoff from Pioneer Gymnasium is set for 5:30 p.m.
