Women’s basketball team captures conference championship

Louis LaVenture,
News and Sports Editor

The Cal State East Bay women’s basketball made history Saturday night.

In a rematch of the 2015 California Collegiate Athletic Association Conference championship game, the Pioneers (27-4 overall, 28-2 conference) avenged last season’s loss after they defeated the Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros (22-9, 18-2), 68-53, at Stockton Arena. This is the first conference championship for CSUEB since they joined the CCAA in 2009-2010, the same year the school became an NCAA Division II member.

Senior and East Bay’s all-time leading scorer, Tori Breshers, led the way for the Pioneers. The forward tallied a game-high 23 points and 5 rebounds in 32 minutes on the floor. Fellow seniors, Laci Effenberger and Shannon Bland, also had big games. The two guards combined to record 24 points and 9 rebounds, while Effenberger also had 6 assists and 3 steals.

This was the school record-setting fourteenth consecutive victory for the Pioneers, who haven’t lost a game since Jan. 16, 64-63 to Cal State San Bernardino.

CSUEB also accomplished another first in program history after the conference championship game triumph. For the first time the Pioneers qualified for the NCAA Division II West Regionals, which are scheduled for March 11 through 14. According to the NCAA website, the game locations have not been announced yet.