BOX SCORE

SEASIDE, Calif. — The Cal State Monterey Bay women' basketball team led nearly wire-to-wire to defeat Cal State East Bay 46-43 Tuesday night in The Kelp Bed and advance to the semifinals of the CCAA Championship Tournament.

CSUMB (19-8 overall) advances to play Chico State (18-9) Friday at RIMAC Arena in La Jolla. Chico State upset Humboldt State 62-60 Tuesday night in Arcata.

The winner of that game will face the winner of the other semifinal between UC San Diego and Cal State L.A. UCSD defeated Sonoma State 70-53 while L.A. came back from a 15-point deficit to stun Cal Poly Pomona 80-78 in Pomona.
The Otters won this game in the paint, out-scoring East Bay 26-8 inside thanks in part to 18 offensive rebounds and a 38-30 advantage on the glass overall.

Junior forward Brittani Jefferson (Palmdale/Quartz Hill HS) led the way for CSUMB, posting her fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Lauren Lucchesi led East Bay (12-17) with 16 points.

Although the Otters trailed only briefly Tuesday, they didn't put East Bay away until the waning  moments. The Pioneers held their last lead at 20-18 but CSUMB never again led by more than six until late.

The turning point came early in the second half, after a quick 6-0 run by East Bay knotted the game at 30-30. Senior guard Erika Ward (Simi Valley/Royal HS) converted back-to-back steals into coast-to-coast layups that gave the Otters the lead for good. 

The lead hovered between two and four points until a Shonetta Crain-Williams (Oakland/El Cerrito HS) put back made it 43-36 with 3:17 to play. East Bay never again got within three until a three-pointer by Lucchesi beat the final horn.

"I thought we came out really strong and sent a message and then we let our foot of the gas pedal and come NCAA Tournament time that is something you cannot do,” said CSUMB Head Coach Renee Jimenez, who improved to 4-3 all-time in postseason play with Tuesday's win. “But Brittani (Jefferson) and B (Brandi Stephens) came off the bench and gave us a spark. I was proud of how we bounced back.”