POMONA -- Rebecca Islas poured in 26 points, 15 coming from long range, and grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds, one short of her season-high, as the Cal Poly Pomona women's basketball team survived against Cal State East Bay, 68-66, on Thursday night at Kellogg Arena in Pomona.

The Broncos (11-2 overall) have won four straight games, improving to 7-1 in the CCAA as they remain in sole possession of second place in the standings.  The Pioneers fell under .500 at 7-8 overall and 4-5 in conference action.

The first quarter was explosive offensively for both teams as they combined for 45 points in the opening 10 minutes.  It was the visiting Pioneers to take a 24-18 lead with 1:11 to play in the opening stanza, but from that point to the 8:37 mark of the second frame, the Broncos went on a 10-0 run to erase a six-point deficit and turn it into a four-point lead at 28-24, thanks to Islas and Que Vanhook who combined for nine of the 10 points during that two-minute span.

CPP extended its lead to the largest of the game -- eight -- on a pair of occasions, the last being a 44-36 lead with 8:09 in the third quarter.  Midway through the third, though, the Pioneers began to chip away, and even managed to tie the game three times down the stretch, the last coming at 62-62 with 4:18 left in regulation.  Islas nailed a three-pointer on the Broncos' next possession which began a string of back-and-forth scoring possessions by both teams.  With 56 seconds left, CSUEB's Kincso Kelemen hit a jumper to make it a one-point game at 67-66 in favor of host CPP. 

Both teams traded turnovers before Islas later made one of two free throws with 13 ticks left on the game clock to give the Broncos a 68-66 advantage, but the Pioneers would have the final possession of the contest. After the inbounds pass, CSUEB went down the floor, but the stingy Bronco defense wouldn't allow the ball anywhere near the hoop, leaving the Pioneers to throw up a deep three-pointer from the left wing that banged off the back rim before falling to the floor as the final buzzer sounded, signaling the win for CPP in nailbiting fashion.

It was Islas' team-leading seventh double-double of the season with her double-digit points and rebounds.  Crystal Malveaux added 15 points as the only other Bronco in double-figures.

For Cal State East Bay, Kelemen led the visitors with 13 points.

Cal Poly Pomona returns to action on Saturday at 5:30 pm when it takes on Cal State Monterey Bay.