Cal State East Bay Falls at Chico State, 67-52

  • February 13, 2010

CHICO, Calif. - Despite battling hard for a win on Friday night, the Cal State East Bay women's basketball team could not reel in Chico State, falling, 67-52, at Acker Gym. The Pioneers never trailed by more than 18, but the Wildcats remained tough to beat at home, posting their ninth win of the season there and their third straight victory.

The first half saw Chico jump out to an early lead, one which they would never relinquish, despite the Pioneers' best efforts. The Wildcats opened a 19-7 lead six minutes into the contest, forcing six East Bay turnovers during that span. Though Cal State East Bay closed the gap to eight with back-to-back layups from junior forward Natalie Montes and junior guard Marie Colon, the Wildcats regained momentum and never led by fewer than 10 points for the remainder of the half to give Chico a 38-23 lead at the break.

The Pioneers struggled to control the ball in the first frame, turning the ball over 15 times which led to 13 Chico State points. The Wildcats also took advantage of their 12 offensive boards, scoring 14 second-chance points. East Bay did get 14 points from its bench players in the opening stanza, including five from Montes and eight combined from junior forward Amaris Sanders and freshman guard Jasmine Smith, both playing their first game since returning from injury.

Cal State East Bay opened the second half with a 16-8 run to close the gap to seven at the 11:01 mark. The run saw Chico commit seven turnovers while the Pioneers shared the wealth with freshmen Lauren Lucchesi and Marlene MacMillan, junior Claudia Nelson and Montes each contributing buckets and junior guard Andrea Rodriguez capping the run with a three.

Leading 46-39, the Wildcats regained control, answering with a three from Natasha Smith and never leading by fewer than nine points again in the game. Despite nine points from Nelson in the final eight minutes and matching Chico State point-for-point in the final frame, the Pioneers could not claw back into the game.

Nelson led East Bay with 14 points on 5-for-12 shooting from the floor, while Lucchesi notched 10 points. Senior forward Colleen Cooley led the Pioneers with 10 boards on the night. Chico's Pauline Ferrall paced all players with a career-high 20 points, while Bull added 16 and Smith pulled down 10 rebounds to help Chico out-rebound the East Bay 52-40.

The Pioneers return to action tomorrow night when they take on Cal State Stanislaus in Turlock. The Warriors (5-16, 4-13) fell to No. 7 UC San Diego, 83-60, on Friday night. Saturday's game is set to tip at 5:30 p.m. at Warrior Arena. Live stats will be available here.