HAYWARD, Calif. - The Cal Poly Pomona women's basketball team rallied for an early second-half lead but ultimately fell short at red-hot Cal State East Bay, 69-55, in a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) contest inside Pioneer Gymnasium on Thursday night.

Coming off of final exams and playing for the first time since Dec. 4, CPP drops to 2-6 overall and 1-3 in the CCAA. Cal State East Bay improves to 9-1 overall and a still-perfect 4-0 in league play with an eighth win in a row, grabbing a share of first place in the standings with idle Stanislaus State. The Pioneers are this week rated No. 21 nationally and third regionally in media polls conducted by D2SIDA.

Delia Moore rattled off five early points for the home side on a banked-in three-pointer and a fast-break layup following her own steal, after Ciara James had opened the scoring on the evening by splitting a pair of free throws. Moore extended personal and team streaks to eight points in a row with a left-wing triple for 8-1. Jayda Villareal finally ended the Pioneer run with an offensive rebound and putback.

An Ally Bates three-pointer off another offensive rebound preceded five points in succession by East Bay, which led 13-6 at the first timeout. Monica Todd then provided back-to-back buckets for CPP, both assisted by Bates. The Broncos tied the game at 15-15 on a Sydney Fedinec triple and a fast-break layup by Villareal after she took advantage of a Pioneer miscommunication to steal an inbounds pass. The hosts would still manage to retake a 20-15 lead at the end of the first quarter, though.

CPP stayed connected in the second quarter through an offensive board and putback by Chynna Cochran, and later an easy layup by Fedinec as Bates grabbed the defensive rebound and expertly ran the fast break. A banked right-wing Ayah League triple closed the deficit back down to three at 28-25. East Bay took a 36-27 advantage on the strength of a pair of three-point field goals, but CPP ended the half with a flurry on two League-assisted Villareal triples. Cochran had a great steal in between.

At 36-33 at the break, Villareal and Moore shared the game high with 10 points apiece. The Broncos' senior guard was 4-for-4 from the floor.

Cal Poly Pomona kept up its strong play coming out of the locker room, and after consecutive Todd layups, the latter a solo driving effort, the guests had their first lead since 1-0, at 37-36. Cochran had the Broncos feeling good as she took a charge on the ensuing Pioneer possession, but the home side grabbed the next five points and 10 of the next 12, before Bates could connect on a three-pointer to make it a 46-42 game. Faith Turner answered two Bates free throws with an offensive rebound and layup, and East Bay stayed on top, 48-44, after three periods.

The first five points of the fourth quarter went to East Bay before a Fedinec bucket. A third Christina Bacci triple for the night pushed the lead back out to double digits, however, at 56-46, as the hosts benefitted from nine offensive rebounds in the early going. The margin from there shifted between eight and 14 points as the Pioneers took the victory.

Making her first start since the Nov. 12 opener, Todd paced the Broncos with a season-high-tying 14 points to lead all players and go along with four rebounds and a game-high three steals. Villareal finished with 13 points. Bates collected nine points, four boards and four assists.

Moore's 13 points led a quartet of Pioneers in double-figure scoring. Abigail Cooper, Madison Schiller and Mina Tameliau added 10 each, while Taylor Linzie grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds. Schiller had six boards and dished out a game-best five assists. East Bay out-rebounded CPP, 45-30, with 18 of them coming on the offensive glass.

Cal Poly Pomona now returns to Southern California but remains in road action for its final game of the 2021 calendar year this Saturday afternoon, Dec. 18, at local rival Cal State Dominguez Hills. Tipoff at the Torodome is set for 1 p.m., with the men's game to follow.

All CCAA basketball contests throughout this 2021-22 season will stream live online via the CCAA Network at www.ccaanetwork.com. Fans may also download the CCAA Network app on your iOS or Android smartphone, tablet, or through web streaming devices such as Amazon Fire, Roku or Apple TV. Saturday's broadcasts are free of charge.

Bronco Bits: Cal Poly Pomona is 202-102 (.664) overall and 155-65 (.705) in CCAA play under 12th-year head coach Danelle Bishop ... Bishop's career mark is 340-187 (.645) in her 18th on-the-court season ... CPP's starting lineup consisted of Ally Bates, Chynna Cochran, Ciara James, Monica Todd and Jayda Villareal for the first time ... Bates is the only Bronco to begin all eight games, as fellow senior Rebecca Islas came off the bench for the first time ... Todd's three steals were a season high ... Ciara James added one to her league-leading block total, now at 17 ... Redshirt freshman Roschondra Prince registered her first collegiate points with a late-game jumper ... The Broncos are 1-4 away from home in 2021-22 ... CPP leads the all-time series, 23-11 (8-6 in Hayward), and had won four straight meetings entering the day ... The Broncos are 12-11 against the Pioneers under Bishop (5-6 in Hayward) ... In the CCAA preseason coaches' poll, CPP was picked to place second with three first-place votes, and Cal State East Bay was favored for third with a pair of first-place nods ... The sides will meet again at Kellogg Arena on Saturday, Jan. 29, at 1 p.m.