ROHNERT PARK, Calif. – On Thursday, Cal State East Bay women's basketball played the first of two straight CCAA road games. With 3.1 seconds remaining, Jaela Richardson hit a pair of free throws to cap off a strong fourth quarter as the Pioneers defeated the Seawolves, 57-56.
 

GAME SUMMARY

The Seawolves started the first quarter on a 12-4. The Pioneers would come as close as three, at 15-12, on a Kayla Rosemon layup with 56 seconds left in the quarter. However, the Seawolves led 17-12 after the end of the first quarter.
 
In the second quarter, the Seawolves extended their lead to double figures, at 22-12, on an Ixchel Rojo 3-pointer with 8:44 left in the half. The Pioneers would answer with an 11-4 half-ending run, capped by a Payton Sterk jumper with 1:05 left in the half, to trim the Seawolves' lead to three at 26-23 going into halftime.
 
The Pioneers would trim Sonoma State's lead to one on three occasions in the third quarter with the third occasion at 38-37 after a pair of Sterk free throws with 11 seconds left in the quarter.
 
Sonoma State maintained a lead for most of the fourth quarter, but the Pioneers would go on a 12-4 run late in the game, capped by a Sterk jumper with 36 seconds left, to trim the Seawolves' lead to 56-55.
 
After Sterk's jumper brought CSUEB within a point, the Seawolves missed a jumper with four seconds left. After a timeout by the Pioneers, advancing the inbound to the front court, Camryn Washington inbounded the ball and found Richardson alone on the left side of the basket. Richardson drew a foul with 3.1 seconds left and sank both free throws to give the Pioneers their first lead of the ballgame at 57-56. The Seawolves had one more chance to take the lead, but the CSUEB defense would not allow Sonoma State to get a shot off as the comeback was complete for the Pioneers, winning 57-56.
 

NOTABLE STATS

• Sterk scored a game-high 20 points for the Pioneers, going 6-for-16 from the floor and making all eight of her free throw attempts. With her season-high 11 rebounds, she reached her second career double double.
• Also scoring in double figures for CSUEB was Rosemon, finishing with 15 points.
• Josias Mickens had six steals, which was the most by a Pioneer since December 2021 when Delia Moore had six steals.
• Jayme Blackard scored 18 points for the Seawolves.
• The Pioneers shot 38.2 percent from the field, to Sonoma State's 36.7 percent.
• Cal State East Bay outrebounded Sonoma State, 39-31.

POSTGAME QUOTE

Cal State East Bay head coach Jenny Thigpin following Thursday's comeback victory on the road: 
"It was a great victory for us after struggling for long stretches on the offensive end. I have to give praise to our team who played well defensively throughout the game which gave us a chance that we took advantage of to pick up this huge road win for us to start the weekend."
 

RECORDS

Cal State East Bay: 7-9, 5-5 CCAA
Sonoma State: 11-6, 6-4 CCAA
 

UP NEXT FOR CAL STATE EAST BAY

The next game for the Pioneers will be this coming Saturday as they travel to Southern California to take on Cal State San Marcos. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. from The Sports Center on the CSUSM campus.