East Bay knocked off by UC San Diego

  • December 14, 2010

LA JOLLA, Calif. - The Cal State East Bay women's basketball team fell to UC San Diego, 61-37, in its return to CCAA play on Tuesday night at RIMAC Arena. Playing their third game in four days, the Pioneers (0-7, 0-3 CCAA) trailed by just seven at the half, but could not keep up with the Tritons in the second half to remain winless on the year.

"We held them to 18 points below their average, but we went back to old habits and did not value the basketball, turning it over 33 times," CSUEB Head Coach Suzy Barcomb said. "The second half was all UCSD, we couldn't match their depth. We are very road weary and looking forward to coming home."

For the second straight game, sophomore forward Lauren Lucchesi paced the Pioneers, notching 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field, while senior guard Claudia Nelson joined Lucchesi in double figures with 11. Sophomore Marlene MacMillan led East Bay as they out-rebounded the Tritons, 35-30, pulling down nine boards, while Lucchesi added eight rebounds of her own. Lauren Friedenberg and Chelsea Carlise led UCSD with 12 points apiece, but the Tritons' 23 bench points and 44.6 percent shooting made the difference in the game. 

Though the Pioneers opened the game with a 9-3 run, sparked by five Nelson points, the Tritons quickly responded, closing the gap to three, 11-8, on a layup with 9:06 remaining in the half. Two minutes later, UCSD took their first lead of the game, but East Bay hung around, keeping the Triton lead under four until the 2:28 mark. UC San Diego finished the half with back-to-back makes from Friedenberg and Carlisle to take a 24-17 lead into the break.

The second half saw the Tritons dominate, getting 16 of their bench points in the final 20 minutes and scoring 13 points off 16 East Bay turnovers in the second frame. Though the Pioneers made eight of their 13 attempts from the charity stripe while giving UCSD just two chances from the free-throw line, East Bay struggled from the field, going just 6-of-20. On the other end, the Tritons shot a blazing 59.3 percent from the floor in the second half to pull away and out-score the Pioneers 37-20 in the second half.

Cal State East Bay went without a three-pointer in the game (0-9) and finished with 33 turnovers, while the Tritons knocked down five threes, committed just 18 turnovers and made 16 steals in the victory. The game marked the first time this season the Pioneers have out-rebounded their opponent.

East Bay will open its home slate on Dec. 19, when it plays host to Sonoma State before a 10-day holiday break. The Pioneers and Seawolves are set for a 2 p.m. tip at Pioneer Gym.