HAYWARD, Calif. – Cal State East Bay women's hoops will host the first of back-to-back Saturday's against Cal State Monterey Bay on Dec. 13. The Pioneers will then head to The Kelp Bed on Dec. 20 in their return to league play after a non-conference home game with Holy Names.

Cal State East Bay (5-2, 1-1 CCAA) split its opening weekend of league play following a 74-57 win over UC San Diego on Saturday. The Pioneers erased a 17-point first half deficit to pick up their first victory inside Pioneer Gymnasium over the Tritons under current head coach Suzy Barcomb.

Cal State Monterey Bay (2-5, 0-2 CCAA) fell by double-digit margins at home to UCSD and Cal Poly Pomona. The Otters let a late lead slip away on Wednesday falling on the road to non-conference foe UC Merced, 62-58.

East Bay won all three meetings during the 2013 calendar year with the latest a 64-46 win in Seaside. The Pioneers outscored the Otters by a combined 75-44 margin in the first half over the pair of 2013-14 meetings.

Through two league games Cal State Monterey Bay has attempted the most 3-point shots (42) and is knocking them down at better than a 35 percent clip. The Otters went 15-of-51 (.294) from distance while the Pioneers made 3-of-12 (.250) from distance.

Jenna Bandy leads CSUMB averaging 14.9 points and 2.3 steals per game. The sharpshooter is 14-of-35 (.400) from beyond the arc and 24-of-25 (.960) at the foul line. The rest of the Otters are 25-of-107 (.234) from three and 76-of-107 (.710) at the charity stripe.

Free throws and defense generally has been the key to success for past Pioneer squads. In seven games this season Cal State East Bay has taken 32 more free throws and made 34 more than its opponents. Last season it was the Pioneers that led all CCAA teams in scoring defense by holding opposing league offenses to under 59 points per game.

Stephanie Lopez, Remy Puou, and Tori Breshers have averaged nearly 48 points per game in the team's five victories this season. In the two defeats this trio is contributing only 31 points, about 17 points below its average in wins, and Pioneers have lost those contests by 14 and 16 point margins.

The milestone watch has begun its countdown for Coach Barcomb as she enters Saturday with 290 career wins. The Pioneers have 21 games remaining on their regular season schedule.