Box Score HAYWARD, Calif. – The Cal State East Bay women's basketball team out-shot and out-rebounded Chico State but could not stop the Wildcats from the free throw line, where they went 8-for-8 down the stretch, to complete a late comeback in an eventual 60-51 loss for CSUEB. The Pioneers (5-11, 2-8 CCAA) led for more than 25 minutes of the game, but could not overcome a tough night from beyond the arc and a string of late turnovers in the loss.

“Every game we know we have to play two highly competitive halves of basketball and we are struggling to accomplish this goal,” Head Coach Suzy Barcomb said. “We got outscored from the free throw line 20-9. It's tough to make up that kind of difference.”

Sophomores Cassie Coble and Brianna Terrance provided a spark off the bench for East Bay, which was led by Coble's 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the field. Terrance helped the Pioneers take a lead into the break, scoring all 10 of her points in the first frame and adding seven rebounds, including four offensive boards, to tie for the team high. Lauren Lucchesi joined in on the rebounding efforts for Cal State East Bay, grabbing seven boards and adding four points and two steals for East Bay.

“Bri and Cassie provided us with big productive minutes off the bench,” Barcomb said.

Marlene MacMillan also contributed, helping force 18 Chico turnovers with five steals, while notching six points, six boards and one block on the night. Sarah Finlay took advantage of the start, scoring seven points and dishing out a team-high three assists.

Synchro Bull led Chico State with 16 points, going 8-for-8 from the free-throw line, while Jazmine Miller posted 13 points on 4-for-9 shooting from the field, including a 3-for-7 performance from long range. Bull also paced the Wildcats on the boards, grabbing eight rebounds and posted a team-leading five assists and five steals.

As a team, the Pioneers shot 40.8 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Wildcats by 12, 38-26. East Bay struggled again from three-point range and the free-throw line, converting just two of their 11 shots from beyond the arc and knocking down only 69.2 percent of their foul shots. East Bay also held the advantage in the bench and second-chance points battle, using their 15 offensive rebounds to score 12 points and getting 30 points from the bench, both double the efforts of the Wildcats.

On the other end, Chico State shot 35.3 percent and went 4-for-13 from three-point range, but were held under their season averages in scoring and rebounding by the Pioneers. The Wildcats got it done at the free-throw line, though, connecting on 20 of their 22 shots from the charity stripe.

After an early stalemate, the Pioneers opened up a 10-6 lead thanks to three straight baskets from Walker, MacMillan and Lucchesi. Though a pair of Chico State free throws cut the lead down to two, East Bay answered, pushing the lead to six, 18-12 with 9:22 to play. The Pioneers held onto the advantage until the Wildcats put together a 6-1 run to shrink the lead to just three points, 25-22, with 2:11 remaining in the half. A jumper from Terrance stopped the bleeding, but the Wildcats answered right back with a three from Jazmine Miller to cut the lead to 27-25 with less than two minutes left. East Bay finished the half strong, however, getting back-to-back jumpers from Terrance to take a 31-25 lead into the break.

East Bay held the advantage both in shooting and on the boards in the first frame, shooting 48.3 percent and out-rebounding Chico State, 21-9. The Pioneers also grabbed nine offensive boards, with both Bravo and Terrance grabbing three apiece. Terrance was Cal State East Bay's leading scorer, posting 10 points off the bench and adding three rebounds while going 4-for-5 from the floor. Lucchesi paced the Pioneers on the glass, grabbing five boards. Chico State shot 36.4 percent, getting six points from Davidson-Mays and five from Miller. Neither team shot well from three-point range, with the Pioneers going 0-for-4 and the Wildcats making just one bucket from beyond the arc. Chico State did prove why they are the top free-throw shooting team in the CCAA, though, going 8-for-8 from the charity stripe in the half.

Chico State came out of the half on fire, hitting its first three shots from the floor to tie the game at 32. The Wildcats didn't stop there, however, opening the second frame with a 15-3 run and taking their first lead since early in the first half and extending that lead to six points, 40-34, with 15:34 left to play. After a three-minute scoring drought for both teams, the Pioneers got things together, ending the drought with a bucket from Coble that sparked a 10-0 run to put East Bay up 44-40 with 8:43 remaining. The run saw Coble notch five points and the Pioneers knock down their first two three-pointers of the game. A pair of free throws from Bull cut the East Bay lead to just two, 44-42, before East Bay got another jumper from Coble and a free throw from MacMillan to take a 47-42 lead with under five minutes to play.

The Wildcats responded with seven consecutive points to regain the lead, 49-47, with 3:20 remaining. A pair of free throws from Finlay tied the game at 49 before Coble gave the Pioneers a 51-49 advantage with 2:24 left. Bull answered with a basket to tie the game at 51 and a second straight turnover for the Pioneers gave the Wildcats the chance to hit a three-pointer and take a 54-51 lead with under a minute left to play. Chico State finished the game doing what they do best, converting eight straight free throws to end the second half.

The Pioneers hit just six field goals in the second half, shooting 30 percent and made just eight trips to the free-throw line, compared to Chico State's 10-for-29 performance from the field and 12-for-14 shooting at the foul line. East Bay also committed 12 turnovers in the second half.

“We defended well at times but it seemed that Chico hit big shots when they needed to,” Barcomb said. “Crucial turnovers late in the game really took a toll on us.”

Cal State East Bay returns to action tomorrow night when it takes on Cal State Stanislaus. The Pioneers and Warriors are set for a 5:30 p.m. tip on Read with the Pioneers Night at Pioneer Gym.