BOX SCORE SEASIDE, Calif. — A sizzling first half shooting performance kept Cal State East Bay in the game early, but the combination of junior forward Brittani Jefferson (Palmdale/Quartz Hill HS) and a strong Otter defense proved lethal as the Cal State Monterey Bay women's basketball team said sayonara to 2011 with a 68–56 win Saturday afternoon in Pioneer Gym.

Jefferson scored 14 of her career–high 22 points in the second half, helping CSUMB (8–1, 5–0 CCAA) win its sixth consecutive game. Jefferson added 10 rebounds, to complete her first double–double.

East Bay (4–7, 1–4) entered the game shooting just 37 percent from the field, but the Pioneers found themselves in the proverbial zone early. The Pioneers were still shooting 73 percent at the final media time out of the first half before finishing the period at 62 percent.

“We constantly reinforce to the girls that, as defending champions, we are the team to beat,” said CSUMB Head Coach Renee Jimenez. “That means we're going to get everybody's 'A' game, just like East Bay showed us tonight.”

The Pioneers cooled off considerably in the second half, but it took the Otters awhile to shake them. CSUMB twice opened seven point leads in the early portion of the second half only to see East Bay claw it's way back each time. The Pioneers even took a 45–44 lead midway through the half before CSUMB slammed the door.

A Stefanie Corgel (Manhattan Beach/UCSB) 3-pointer and a pair of Jefferson layups sparked at 13–2 run that gave the Otters their first double–digit lead at 57–47. East Bay wouldn't get inside seven points the rest of the way.

Leaders
Points	Jefferson, 22	Lucchesi, 19
Rebounds	Jefferson, 10	MacMillan, 7
Assists	Corgel, 3	Blikra, Terrance, 2
Steals	Fontenette, 2	Walker, 2
Blocks	None	Lucchesi, 1

“I thought we did a much better job the second half making them take tougher shots and we were much more patient on the offensive end of the floor in the second half.” said Jimenez. “Brittani and Shonetta really broke the game open for us and our guards locked in and got huge stops down the stretch.”

In addition to Jefferson, Erika Ward (Simi Valley/Royal HS) hit five three–pointers as part of her 17 points.

Lauren Lucchesi led East Bay with 19 points.

CSUMB returns to action in 2012, traveling to The City to take on San Francisco State Thursday (Jan. 5). Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. and will be carried live on www.OtterAthletics.com.