Box score | Cal State East Bay postgame | Azusa Pacific postgame

Cal State East Bay women's basketball is advancing to the program's first-ever NCAA West Region Championship game after defeating Azusa Pacific 82-74 in the semifinals.
 
Madison Schiller paced the Pioneers with 19 points as all five starters for Cal State East Bay scored at least nine points. Schiller went 8-of-11 from the field to go along with four rebounds and two steals. Zhane Duckett added 17 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Mina Tameliau chipped with 12 points, and Grace Campbell added 10. Paige Uyehara led Azusa Pacific with 18 points, and Kayla Shaw had 15 points and eight rebounds.
 
The game was back-and-forth from the opening tip, with 16 lead changes throughout the game. APU went up 13-2 to start the game, only to see East Bay take the lead before the end of the first quarter (18-16). At halftime, it was 35-34 in favor of APU, and it led 51-45 with four minutes left in the third quarter after a 3-pointer by Kayla Shaw. That is when the Pioneers put together the run that would win them the game.
 
East Bay closed out the quarter on a 12-2 run as the team hit all eight of its free throw attempts, and Madison Schiller converted on a pair of layups. The Pioneers continued to tack on until they extended their run to 22-6 and led by 10 (67-57) with 6:50 remaining.
 
APU would fight back to tie the game at 69-69, but the Pioneers refused to give up the lead. Taylor Linzie followed with a critical offensive rebound, and putback, and Tameliau hit two more free throws to extend the lead back to four. The Pioneers' defense then held the Cougars to 0-for-5 shooting with two turnovers in the last four minutes to seal the win.
 
Cal State East Bay will advance to the regional finals to face Western Washington on Monday, March 14 at 7 p.m. Catch the game at CCAAnetwork.com.