Pioneers Notch First Victory with 69-68 Overtime Win
Junior guard Claudia Nelson led the Pioneers with 18 points in their first CCAA win. (Photo: Kelly Paris)
- February 4, 2010
HAYWARD, Calif. - The Cal State East Bay women's basketball team came back from a 14-point second half deficit to eke out a dramatic 69-68 overtime victory over Cal State LA on Thursday night, marking its first win of the 2009-10 campaign. Junior guard Claudia Nelson, junior forward Natalie Montes and freshman center Marlene MacMillan each reached double figures in scoring, while MacMillan and fellow freshman center Lauren Lucchesi led the Pioneers' (1-18, 1-13 CCAA) rebounding efforts in the win over the Golden Eagles.
"We played well the second half and pulled out a win against a more experienced team," CSUEB Head Coach Toni West said. "I'm happy with our performance and proud of the players for pulling this one out."
Despite leading by as many as six points in the overtime period, the Pioneers were forced to rely on three final free throws from Nelson and senior forward Colleen Cooley in the last 21 seconds of the overtime period to secure the win. After Cooley's first shot from the line gave the Pioneers a 69-66 lead, the miss on the second shot was rebounded by the Golden Eagles, who found sophomore guard Jameiz Terrell in the corner. Terrell drained a jumper at the buzzer, but was just inside the three-point line, saving the Pioneers from a second overtime period and giving them their first victory of the year.
Cal State LA came out of the half looking to build momentum and a potentially insurmountable lead and appeared to do just that, coming out of the gates to take a 41-27 lead with 16 minutes to play. The Pioneers answered with a 12-2 run that saw Nelson and Lucchesi dominate, combining for nine points and three boards during the four-minute span, closing the Golden Eagle lead to four.
Eight-straight unanswered points from Cal State LA gave it a 12-point lead with 10:16 remaining. From there, Cal State East Bay began to whittle away at the Golden Eagle advantage, going 6-for-9 from the field over the next four minutes to close the gap to two, 55-53, with six minutes to play. Though LA re-opened a four-point lead, the Pioneers quickly closed the gap to one, forcing three turnovers in the course of two minutes.
With the Golden Eagles up 58-55 with 2:08 remaining, a Nelson jumper brought the Pioneers back within one. After the two teams traded misses and turnovers, MacMillan was fouled with seven seconds left. The Tracy native hit the first free throw to tie things up at 58 before missing the second and fouling Desiree Domingues to give the Golden Eagles a chance to win the game at the free throw line with two ticks remaining. Domingues missed the front end of the one-and-one to send the game to overtime.
A relatively quiet first half saw Cal State LA jump out to a 10-point lead early on, opening up a 16-6 advantage at the 12:21 mark. The Pioneers responded with a 12-2 run sparked by MacMillan putting in a layup and converting the and-one opportunity and capped by a Lucchesi jumper to tie things up at 18 all with 8:01 to play.
The Golden Eagles re-built a six-point lead which East Bay almost immediately closed to two, 24-22, with six minutes remaining. LA, however, finished the first frame with a 9-3 run to take a 33-25 advantage into the break.
After scoring just four points in the first half, Nelson turned things on in the final 25 minutes posting 14 points in the second stanza and overtime period to lead East Bay with 18. Meanwhile, Montes added 11 for the Pioneers and snagged four steals, and MacMillan finished with her second straight double-double, posting 15 points and 11 rebounds. Lucchesi paced the Pioneers on the glass for the 11th time this season, snagging 12 boards and finishing just one point shy of a double-double.
Junior guard Jazzi Johnson led all players with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, however six of those field goals and 14 of her 21 points came in the first half. Junior Jordan Kuzma and Baker both added 10 points apiece for the Golden Eagles. Baker, Johnson and Domingues led Cal State LA's rebounding efforts, each reaching double figures on the glass and combining for half of the Golden Eagles' boards.
Despite being out-rebounded by nearly 20 boards, the Pioneers finished with a 17-14 advantage in second-chance points and got 23 of their points from players off the bench. Cal State East Bay also forced 35 Golden Eagle turnovers and posted 10 steals in the win.
"We just need to continue to getting more consistent with our defense which is the reason why we won this game," West said.
The Pioneers return to action on Saturday, as they play host to Cal State Dominguez Hills to close the four-game homestand. The Toros (7-13, 6-9) fell to No. 8 UC San Diego 83-57 on Thursday night and have lost three of their last five. Cal State East Bay will be looking to avenge an 86-71 loss to CSUDH in the teams' first meeting this season in Carson. The Pioneers and Toros are set to tip off at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday at Pioneer Gym. Live stats will be available .