The CSU East Bay women’s basketball team made university history by becoming the first CSUEB team to reach the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) playoffs since the university became eligible for the Division II postseason last summer.

On Tuesday night, the Pioneers traveled to CSU Monterey Bay to take on the No. 2 seed in the conference in the first round of the CCAA playoffs.

The Pioneers put up a good fight all game long, but their efforts came up short as Monterey Bay defeated CSUEB by a final score of 46-43.

“We played the number two team in the CCAA, a proven contender and veteran team to a 3-point game,” said head coach of the Pioneers women’s basketball team, Suzy Barcomb. “We played with passion, heart and more importantly we competed until the very end. It was a demanding game and we came up just shy. One basket, a couple of free throws and we have a chance to win it late.”

The Monterey Bay Otters were the number one seed all last season and reached the final CCAA tournament before losing to Pomona. They entered the game having finished the regular season with an 18-7 overall record and a 15-6 conference record.

The Pioneers held the Otters scoring attack to nearly 20 points under their season average and never trailed by more than nine points in the game.

To achieve a playoff berth, the Pioneers had to secure either the number seven or eight seed over the weekend. They successfully did that with a win against Cal State Stanislaus last Thursday night and, despite losing to Chico State last Friday night, were able to secure the number seven seed in the division with a CSU San Bernardino loss.

Although no one throughout the conference would have expected the Pioneers to earn a playoff spot this season, they were able to prove their biggest critics wrong and despite suffering many injuries all season long, they were also one of the biggest defensive threats in the conference.

Having completed her second season as the CSUEB’s women’s basketball team head coach, Barcomb knew that getting to the playoff was a lofty goal but was confident in her team’s ability to battle through.

The CCAA announced on Monday Micah Walker as the conference Freshmen of The Year. Walker averaged 9.1 points during the season and finished second on the team in scoring.

Walker led the Pioneers in assist averaging two per game while also averaging 3.5 rebounds per game. To end the season Walker scored in double figures in four of the last six games to bring her season total to 11 games in which she scored 10 or more points.

Freshmen Marlene MacMillan was also announced to the second All-CCAA team on Wednesday as well. MacMillan led the Pioneers in scoring with an average of 9.2 points per game and ranks third in the league in rebounding with 9.3 per game.

Walker and MacMillan were both essential elements in the Pioneers run towards the playoffs.

“We have encountered so many set-backs this year, due to injury and illness,” said Barcomb.  “For this team to stick together, with a depleted roster is truly amazing.  It is rare to have six knee injuries in one season and for us to still make the play-offs speaks volume about this team.”

Next season, the Pioneers will return the majority of their roster, losing only senior Frieda Li to graduation.

With the Pioneers top four scorers and rebounders set to return next season, they seek to carry over the success from this season to next year.

“The only thing I know is that I will continue to demand excellence from those members of the women’s basketball program, both on the court and in the classroom,” said Barcomb. “We need to add some missing pieces to the puzzle, so our coaches will focus on recruiting and the team will focus on surgeries, rehab and getting better in the off-season.”

With the postseason defeat to Monterey Bay this week, the Pioneers have officially closed out the season, hoping to look back on the year as the starting point to future success.

“We achieved a level of success many did not think possible,” said Barcomb. “Some may call it over-achieving, I would call it believing in ‘us’ as a team and not selling ourselves short. We achieved what we set out to do; therefore we can all look back on this year and smile.”