Women's Basketball | December 11, 2014

SEASIDE, Calif. — The Cal State Monterey Bay women's basketball team returns to CCAA action Saturday evening when it travels to the East Bay to take on the Pioneers of Cal State East Bay Saturday (Dec. 13) in the opener of its annual home-and-home series versus its CCAA travel partner. East Bay will return the trip the following Saturday (Dec. 20) in The Kelp Bed.

Fans who can't make the trip may watch live on PioneerWebTV.com or listen to the Otter webcast with Rob Ponce calling the action on OtterAthletics.com.

The series will conclude the 2014 portion of the CSUMB women's basketball schedule. Following the Christmas break, the Otters begin the meat of their CCAA schedule back in the Bay area with games at Sonoma State (Jan. 2) and San Francisco State (Jan. 3).
 

---

PIONEER 3–DOT NOTES (5–2, 1–1): The Pioneers are off to a respectable 5–2 start under fifth year Head Coach Suzi Barcomb…after dropping their conference opener to Cal Poly Pomona they rebounded with a 74–57 win over UC San Diego…Over the past five seasons, East Bay has trailed only CSUMB in the NCAA Division II defensive rankings…senior guard Stephanie Lopez, a second team All–CCAA pick last season, leads East Bay in scoring (20.7 ppg), rebounding (7.0 rpg) and assists (4.1 apg)…sophomore center Remy Puou adds 12.4 ppg and 6.3 rpg.

WHEN LAST WE MET: The Otters got off to a record–slow start the last time they face Cal State East Bay, missing 19 of their first 20 attempts from the field to allow the Pioneers to salt the game away early in a 64–46 East Bay win. Although CSUMB trailed 36–11 at the half, it did out–score East Bay 35–28 in the second half. Nikki Beckman (who would suffer a season–ending injury in CSUMB's next game), led the Otters with 14 points. Danielle Peacon led East Bay with 20 points and nine boards.

WHEN LAST WE PLAYED: CSUMB's "B" game wasn't enough as underdog UC Merced made 10–of–21 from 3–point range in a 62–58 upset Wednesday in Merced. The game went back and forth until Merced overcame a late 4–point Otter lead in the final two minutes to pull out the win. McKenna Hill led CSUMB with a career–high 15 points. Stephanie Sack chipped in a season–high 11 points along with three assists and three steals.

THIS DATE IN OTTER HISTORY: Janet Oseguera went 10–of–12 from the field (then a school record), the team scored 83 points (then the No. 2 mark in school history) as the Otters rolled to an 83–52 victory over William Jessup University on Dec. 13, 2008. CSUMB's 31–point margin of victory is still a school record.

BANDY'S CAREER NIGHT: Jenna Bandy's career night versus Cal Poly Pomona on Dec. 6 made quite an impression in the Otter record book. Here's how her numbers from the game stack up:

• 28 Points Scored: No. 3 all–time (Dana Andrews, 41 in 2008)
• 9 Free Throws Made: No. 8 all–time (Helen Suarez 20 in 2008)
• 9 of 9 Free Throws: No. 2 all–time (Brandi Stephens, 11–of–11 in 2011)
• 5 3–Pointers: No. 6 all–time (Dana Andrews 7 in 2007 and 2008)

BANDY TOPS BRANDI: Jenna Bandy's 28–point night vs. Cal Poly Pomona represented the first game of 25 or more points by an Otter since Brandi Stephens scored 25 in a 64–59 win over Sonoma State on Dec. 3, 2011.

GIVE HER A HAND FOR GIVING A HAND: Junior point guard Stephanie Sack dished a team season–high seven assists versus Cal Poly Pomona on Dec. 6. That mark is tied for No. 9 on the Otter single–game list. The last Otter to pass for more assists was Nikki Beckman, who had nine dimes in a win over Humboldt State on Dec. 14, 2013.

70 IS THE ANSWER TO EVERYTHING: With apologies to Douglas Adams, the answer to everything isn't 42, it's 70. With Saturday's 81–67 win over Cal State San Marcos, CSUMB is now 34–2 when scoring 70 or more points since the 2008–09 season. Prior to the 2013 regular season finale (an 84–75 overtime loss to Chico State), the Otters hadn't scored 70 in defeat since a 85–79 loss to Cal State Stanislaus on Dec. 6, 2008.

WHY PLAY 40 MINUTES? Wednesday's hiccough at UC Merced aside, second halves have become all but irrelevant when the Otters lead at intermission. CSUMB has won 75 of its last 80 regular season games in which it has led at halftime. Since 2008–09, the Otters have an 81–6 regular season record when leading at intermission. Included in that run was a 52–game winning streak broken when Humboldt State overcame a 32–31 on deficit Feb. 4, 2012 to win 65–51.

THE DEFENSE DOESN'T REST: Defense continues to be the staple of the Otter diet, with CSUMB finished last season allowing just 59.2 points per game. The Otters finished their first season under Head Coach Kerri Nakamoto ranked No. 1 in both the CCAA and the West Region and No. 13 in the nation in scoring defense.