Pioneers Edged by Cal State Stanislaus, 67-59
- February 13, 2010
TURLOCK, Calif. - Despite leading by 10 points at the half, the ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ women's basketball team could not hold off Cal State Stanislaus in the second half, falling to the Warriors, 67-59, in Turlock on Saturday night. The Pioneers (1-21, 1-16 CCAA) were led by freshman center Marlene MacMillan's 19-point, 11-rebound double-double and junior guard Claudia Nelson's 13 points in the loss.
ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ never trailed in the first half after a game-opening free throw gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead. From there, the Pioneers went on a 15-6 run to start the half, taking a 15-7 lead at the 12:09 mark. The Warriors responded, closing the gap to three twice in the next four minutes, but would never come closer than four for the remainder of the half. Meanwhile, East Bay converted 19 Warrior turnovers into 14 points in the half and shot nearly 40 percent from the field to take a 34-24 lead into the break.
Nelson led East Bay with 11 points in the first frame, going 5-for-9 from the floor and notching two steals. MacMillan added seven points in the half, helping the Pioneers control the lane, out-scoring Stanislaus 14-4 in the paint. Ebony Mimms-Johnson paced the Warriors in the first half with 11 points, while Katie Busi notched eight boards.
The second half saw a re-energized Cal State Stanislaus team emerge from the locker room. The Warriors opened the stanza with six straight points to cut the Pioneer lead to four just three minutes into the half. East Bay responded with four points apiece from MacMillan and freshman guard Emily Valenziano to regain an eight-point lead, 42-34 with 14:40 remaining.
Cal State Stanislaus answered with a 13-4 run over the next four minutes to take its first lead since the first minute of the game. The run saw Alishea Kelly notch seven points for the Warriors, while the Pioneers committed three turnovers during that span.
With Stanislaus holding onto a precarious 49-46 lead at the 9:00 mark, the two teams battled to steer the momentum their direction. A MacMillan layup a minute later closed the gap to one again, before the Warriors responded with a layup from Samantha Bertomen and Kelly's second trey of the half to open the lead to four with seven minutes remaining.
East Bay answered back with a jumper from senior forward Colleen Cooley and a free throw by junior forward Natalie Montes to cut the lead to one, 54-53, with under six to play. Before the Pioneers had a chance to take control, however, Bertomen hit a three to take a 57-53 lead and swing momentum for the final time.
Despite East Bay's efforts, the Warriors never led by fewer than four over the final five minutes and went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe in the final minute to seal the win. On the other end, the Pioneers struggled from the line in the stretch run, hitting just half of their free throws in the final six minutes. The Warriors took control of the paint in the second half, scoring 20 points there, including 10 from Busi.
MacMillan contributed nearly half of East Bay's points in the second frame, as the Pioneers were out-scored 43-25 and were out-rebounded 23-10 in the final 20 minutes. The double-double for MacMillan is her third of the season, while the 19 points are a new career-high. For Nelson, the 13 points mark the fourth straight game she has hit double figures in scoring and her 17th double digit scoring contest of the season.
The Pioneers also scored 24 points off turnovers and out-scored Stanislaus 18-6 on second-chance points despite being out-rebounded by 14 on the night. East Bay also got 29 points from its bench players with MacMillan and junior guard Andrea Rodriguez combining to score 27 off the bench.
Four players in double figures led the Warriors, as Kelly dropped 15, Busi added a 12-point, 16-rebound double-double, and Bertomen and Jeanette Rowe each contributed 11. Busi's 16 boards paced Stanislaus' rebounding efforts, as it controlled the glass 41-27 in the contest. The Warriors also made the most of their free throws, shooting 85 percent from the line on the night.
ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ returns to action on Tuesday, Feb. 16, as they travel to La Jolla to face No. 7 UC San Diego. The Tritons came into the weekend with just one loss on the year, but fell to Chico State on Saturday, 77-67. Tip off of the third game of the Pioneers' five-game road trip is set for 5:30 p.m. at RIMAC Arena.