Women’s basketball three-game winning streak snapped
January 11, 2017
The California State East Bay Basketball team went 1-1 over the weekend in their California Collegiate Athletic Association Conference home games against California State San Marcos and UC San Diego.
The women won their third straight game after beating San Marcos (8-5 overall, 5-3 conference) on Thursday, but the streak ended in the second game on Saturday against UC San Diego (11-3, 7-1).
On Thursday, East Bay faced San Marcos in what was one of the Pioneers best defensive games of the season. In the beginning of the first quarter the two teams remained neck-and-neck, keeping the score very close. But in the last two minutes of the quarter, the Pioneers gained momentum and took a 16-9 lead.
The Pioneers continued this momentum into the second quarter: playing a strong defense and capitalizing on opportunities created by their defense, ending the half with a 9 point lead, 29-20.
“I feel we were well prepared for San Marcos and we played together on both ends of the floor and shared the ball effectively,” freshman forward Morgan Greene said.
Throughout the game, the Pioneers held the Cougars to a dismal 29.2 shooting percentage and shot just 32.8 percent themselves, but their defense is what gave them the edge over San Marcos.
In the second half, freshman guard Elayshia Woolridge scored 10 points and 7 rebounds, helping the Pioneers seal the win. Greene also was a key factor defensively, with 15 rebounds — 8 offensive and 7 defensively — a career high. The Pioneers held San Marcos to 4-for-22 from the three point line and won the game 59-44.
“We did not shoot the best tonight, but our preparation and hunger to win helped us pull through,” Woolridge said. “I was focused tonight and I kept working hard so I could help my team in any way possible, whether that was steals, rebounds or points.”
On Saturday the Pioneers shifted their focus to UC San Diego, the best team in CCAA.
East Bay held their own for the first half the game as they led 31-27 into halftime and things looked good for the team. But at the start of the second half, San Diego began to dominate in the paint.
The Pioneers had another bad shooting percentage game, as they shot just 30.4 percent and were unable to find a consistent rhythm in the second half. In the third quarter, UCSD held the Pioneers to only 4 points, which ultimately gave the Tritons the 59-47 win.
“UCSD was definitely a better team than San Marcos, but as a team we lost our urgency and then eventually ran out of time to win the game,” Woolridge said. “I also could have been more aggressive,”
The Pioneers are currently fifth in the conference standings and their next game is on Saturday when they take on California State Monterey Bay (4-11, 1-7) at 5:30 p.m. at Pioneer Gymnasium on the Hayward campus.
