HAYWARD – Trailing by 16 at the half, the Cal State Dominguez Hills women's basketball team crawled back and outscored Cal State East Bay in the second half, but the rally came up just short at the buzzer as the Pioneers held on to beat the Toros 82-81 in the CCAA opener Saturday afternoon.
 
The Toros dominated the second half, rallying against the Pioneers 44-29. Following a pair of successful free throws by Hosanna Walker to bring the score to 82-811 with 17 seconds left, Dominguez Hills caught a break after Sylvia Vartzarian missed a pair of free throws with 14 seconds left.
 
Auren Isaacson dribbled across the court and broke for the basket for the game-winning layup attempt, only it hit the iron. Destiny McAllister got the rebound, but it was knocked out of her hands. Hosanna Walker got the loose ball and made the last second attempt but missed at the buzzer.
 
After going 13-for-33 (39 percent) in the first half, the Toros looked like a different team in the second half, shooting 16-for-31 (52 percent). Dominguez Hills also capitalized on East Bay's turnovers, dropping in 16 points off the Pioneers mistakes.
 
Asia Jordan broke the 20-point barrier after scoring 10 or more points in the last four games, scoring a career-high 23 points against the Pioneers. Isaacson contributed to 13 points and Walker had a dozen. The Toros as a whole shot 45 percent from the field while going 18-for-21 on the free throw line.
 
East Bay, a top three favorite in the CCAA, was held to 46 percent from the field and edged the rebounding column 31-29.
 
The Toros had trailed by as many as 21 early into the third quarter.
 
Dominguez Hills' three-game, conference-opening road trip moves back to Southern California, visiting Cal State San Marcos Thursday at 5:30 p.m. The Cougars are coming off a 95-75 blowout win on the road at Cal State LA.