POMONA, Calif. — At Kellogg Arena on Thursday evening, Cal State East Bay saw its win streak come to an end with an 82-67 loss to No. 13 Cal Poly Pomona. After leading for much of the first three quarters, the Pioneers could not sustain their momentum in the fourth as the Broncos pulled away late.
Cal State East Bay opened the night with energy, jumping out to an 8-0 lead less than two minutes in. Aloha Akaka scored on a layup five seconds into the game, and Lucca Lowenberg followed with a pair of 3-pointers to quickly put pressure on the home team. Cal Poly Pomona answered by settling into its half-court offense and eventually took its first lead at 12-11 with 2:28 left in the first quarter. The Broncos carried a slim 14-13 advantage at the end of the opening period.
In the second quarter, the Pioneers (8-11, 7-6 CCAA) put together two strong runs that swung the game back in their favor. East Bay pushed its lead to as many as 11 points and went up 34-23 with 3:07 remaining before halftime on a fastbreak jumper by Hailey Estrada. The Broncos closed the half with a decisive 12-2 run, however, trimming the deficit and forcing a tighter game. East Bay still held a narrow 36-35 lead at the break.
Akaka opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer in the first minute to extend the lead back to four. East Bay continued to hold a small edge until the 5:20 mark, when Cal Poly Pomona took a 46-45 lead on a jumper by Andrea Stajic. After a timeout, Estrada answered with a jumper to briefly put the Pioneers back in front, but the momentum shifted again. The Broncos closed the quarter by holding East Bay without a field goal the rest of the way and moved ahead 53-50 entering the fourth.
Cal Poly Pomona carried that surge into the final period, controlling the pace and dominating on the glass. The Broncos steadily built their lead, stretching it to as many as 18 points as East Bay struggled to find consistent offense. Cal Poly Pomona ultimately cruised to the 82-67 victory.
Estrada led East Bay with 21 points, shooting 8-for-17 from the floor and 5-for-9 at the free throw line, and added three steals on the defensive end. Taylor Eldredge also finished in double figures with 12 points. Meredith Gilbertson pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Cal Poly Pomona held a significant advantage on the boards, outrebounding East Bay 58-31, and shot 44.9 percent from the field compared to 39.7 percent for the Pioneers.
"We played solid basketball and competed on both ends of the floor for three quarters but did not sustain it in the fourth quarter," Cal State East Bay head coach Jenny Thigpin said. "We played with effort but we have to play better through our mistakes and try and get ready for our next one against San Bernardino."
Cal State East Bay returns to the road on Saturday, January 31, for a 1 p.m. tipoff at Cal State San Bernardino. The game will be played at Coussoulis Arena in San Bernardino, California. The Coyotes won the last meeting between the teams, 84-65, on January 2 in Hayward.
