Women’s hoops hang on for win

Usually a blowout victory is a cause for celebration.

However, for the Cal State East Bay women’s basketball team, a 17-point triumph, 60-43, over visiting Holy Names College provided little cause to get excited.

“We came away with a win, but played with very little intensity. I’m disappointed with how our team approached the game today,” Cal State East Bay Head Coach Suzy Barcomb said. “Holy Names played with more energy and effort than us. We didn’t respond very well to the challenge. The credit goes to (them) for putting us back on our heels most of the day.”

The Pioneers came out hot in the first half. With 17:24 left senior guard Stephanie Lopez scored on a breakaway layup making the score 6-5 and CSUEB never trailed again. The Pioneers shot 40 percent from the field and 30 percent from behind the three-point arc taking a 32-19 advantage into halftime.

“Too many turnovers and many missed free throws could have really cost us the game. Luckily for us we managed to get on the offensive glass and pick up some second chance points,” Barcomb said.

Holy names managed to slow down the Pioneers offensive attack in the second half. However, the CSUEB lead proved too large for the Hawks to come back from falling despite only being outscored by four points in the second half. Lopez led the way for the Pioneers tallying 15 points, five rebounds and three steals in 31 minutes on the floor. Junior forward Tori Breshers piled up the statistics in the winning effort amassing 11 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and four blocks.

The Pioneers are now 7-2 overall and 2-1 in conference competition. Holy Names fell to 2-7 overall and 1-2 in conference play this season.

Next up for the Pioneers is a trip to Seaside and the Otter Sports Center to take on Cal State Monterey Bay at 5 p.m. on Saturday Dec. 20. The Otters are 2-6 this season overall and have lost their last four games in a row.