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Women's Basketball

Toros Advance to CCAA Semifinal After Convincing 71-64 Win Over CS East Bay

Breanne Garcia led all scorers with 18 points in tonight's win over the Pioneers
Box Score

ONTARIO -- No. 3 seed Cal State Dominguez Hills raced out to a 38-22 halftime lead and rode an efficient 18-point performance by Breanne Garcia and four other Toros who scored in double figures en route to a convincing 71-64 win over No. 6 seed Cal State East Bay in the first round of the CCAA Championship Tournament.

"I'm really, really proud of how we responded, starting with the big win against UCSD to get into the tournament, and how that carried over into tonight's game against a really good East Bay team," says head coach Molly Goodenbour on surviving to play another day.

"I was definitely worried about playing them in the first round because Danielle Peacon is a very good player even though she isn't at 100%, and Brianna Terrance is one fo the best players in the league, and the combination of kids they have and the experience they have is a tough match-up for us.

"But I was really pleased with the way we came out and I think we played one of our best defensive halves of the year in the first half with Shomari McCorkle and Talia Rayford communicating so well and doing a great job helping keep Terrance, Peacon and Stephanie Lopez in check."

The Toros, now 18-9, will face No. 2 seed Chico State in the late CCAA semifinal tomorrow night at 8:05 pm, looking for their first win of the year against CSUC after the Wildcats swept the regular season series.

Here's the postgame interview featuring Talia Rayford, Taylor Champion and Goodenbour:


A Tayler Champion three-pointer to open the game set the tone, and provided a harbinger of things to come from the 2nd-team All-CCAA selection as Champion connected for five baskets on the night, all from behind the arc.

"We attacked their zone from the beginning, and having Amber Wharton back to run the point and moving Breezy back to a wing position where she can focus on attacking and scoring and not so much on running the offense makes us a better team and allows us to play more in our natural positions," Goodenbour notes.

With the Toros up 7-4, the Pioneers scored the next nine points to take a 13-7 lead, before a pair of Garcia triples tied the game at 13-13 with just over eight minutes elapsed in the half.

After a Tori Breshers jumper gave CSUEB a 19-18 lead at the 8:01 mark, a Rayford three-pointer spurred a 15-0 run that saw the Toros take charge of the game and enter the break with a commanding 38-22 lead.

The second half was more of the same as the Toros ran their lead to as much as 22 at 56-34 after a Rayford bucket with 9:40 left in regulation, after CSUEB suffered a big blow four minutes earlier after Danielle Peacon picked up her fifth foul with just two points scored on 1-of-4 shooting.

Much to their credit, the Pioneers kept attacking, cutting their deficit to 58-46 on a Brianna Terrance at the 5:29 mark.

The penultimate Champion trey on CSUDH's next possession, however, quelled the would-be Pioneer rally and pushed the Toro lead back to 15, with the final Champion triple again pushing CSUDH's cushion to 15 at 3:30 after Pioneer Sharissa Estremera answered with her own 3-pointer one possession earlier.

With CSUEB forced to foul, the Toros were stellar from the foul line as Monay Lee and Garcia combined for five makes in six attempts down the stretch to seal the 71-64 win.

As part of her 18 points, Garcia was a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe, with Champion finishing with 17 points, Rayford and Lee 12 each and Amber Wharton 10 points and five assists.

CSUDH finished shooting 83.3% from the foul line (20-24) while dominating the boards en route to a 38 to 28 advantage, including 11 on the offensive end.

Looking forward to CSUDH's match-up against Chico State tomorrow, Goodenbour knows that anything can happen, as evidenced by Cal State L.A.'s heroic comeback over UC San Diego after being down by 18 in the second half.

"We are excited to play Chico, and we will try to do what L.A. did after dropping both regular season games to UCSD before beating them tonight," says the former Wildcat head coach who earned a CCAA Coach of the Year honor in Chico, leading them to the NCAA regional.

In the regular season, the Wildcats took an 80-78 decision at home before a 54-51 win in Carson to sweep the regular season series as Champion and Lee led CSUDH with respective 17.5 and 16.5 point per game averages.

Three-point shooting and rebounding proved the difference in the close contests, but Goodenbour knows those games are in the past, and that this is a new season for everyone.

"We know that anything can happen and we feel fortunate to have the opportunity to play on Friday, and hopefully play our way into the NCAA regional as well," she concludes.  "We are really excited about everything, and everyone seems focused and they are all having fun playing with one another."

Tomorrow's earlier match-up will feature No. 5 seed Cal State L.A. taking on top-seeded Cal Poly Pomona after the Golden Eagles shocked No. 4 seed UC San Diego in a 60-59 decision despite the Tritons leading by as much as 18 points in the second half.  It was the first win for CSULA this year over UCSD after the Tritons swept the regular season series.

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