San Jose, Calif.----- Ta'Rea Cunnigan scored 10 of her 15 points in the second half as the San Jose State University women's basketball team defeated Cal State East Bay, 66-57, in an exhibition game.

            The Spartans had three players in double-figure scoring. Center Emily Schill had a double-double with 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds and Jayzyl Tauala scored 11 before fouling out.

          "Coming into the game I was anxious and nervous at the same time, but it was exciting to play together for the first time in a real game," said Cunnigan, the only returning San Jose State player among nine Spartans.

            Cal State East Bay forward Lauren Lucchesi led all players in scoring with 26 points. No other Pioneer player scored more than five points.

            The game was tied 12 times including 33-33 at halftime.

           Playing an up-beat tempo the entire evening, San Jose State finally pulled away midway through the second half as Cal State East Bay went more than nine minutes without a field goal. Two Schill free throws with 8:17 to go gave the Spartans a 50-49 lead. San Jose State then extended its lead to as many as 11 points with its only 3-point field goal of the second half by Alexis Hill.

           "There were a lot of positives. We were plus-12 on the turnovers. We played better on both ends in the second half. We generated offense off of their turnovers and get to the foul line and capitalize on those opportunities," said San Jose State coach Tim La Kose.

San Jose State was 22-of-35 from the free throw line and scored 10 consecutive second-half points between Riana Byrd field goals at the 10:49 and 6:49 marks in the final 20 minutes.

             San Jose State shot 30.3 percent from the field, slightly less than the Pioneers' 32.1 percent.

             "It's common in exhibition games to see a high amount of fouls and turnovers, missed shots. We definitely saw that tonight," added the San Jose State coach.

            Cal State East Bay, which committed 31 turnovers, outrebounded the Spartans, 49-41 in a game in which 51 fouls were called.

            San Jose State opens its season, November 9, hosting San Francisco State in a 7:00 p.m. game.


SAN JOSE STATE 66, CAL STATE EAST BAY 57
CAL STATE EAST BAY
LUCCHESI, Lauren 8-14 7-8 26; FINNEGAN, Rachel 2-3 1-2 5; FINLAY, Sarah 0-5 5-6 5; CICHOKE, Meaghan 1-5 2-2 5; BRESHERS, Tori 2-6 0-2 4; WALKER, Micah 1-7 2-4 4; TERRANCE, Brianna 2-6 0-0 4; BRAVO, Nia 1-4 0-2 2; COBLE, Cassie 1-5 0-0 2; AKAIGBE, Candace 0-0 0-0 0; SWAYZER, Sabrina 0-1 0-1 0. Totals 18-56 17-27 57.

SAN JOSE STATE
Schill, Emily 5-13 6-10 16; Cunnigan, Ta'Rea 3-16 9-12 15; Tauala, Jayzyl
3-8 3-4 11; Byrd, Riana 4-9 1-2 9; Thomas, Chereese 2-10 2-4 6; Hill, Alexis
2-6 0-0 5; James, Classye 1-4 1-3 4. Totals 20-66 22-35 66.
Cal State East Bay............   33   24  -   57
San Jose State................   33   33  -   66
3-point goals--Cal State East Bay 4-16 (LUCCHESI, Lauren 3-4; CICHOKE,
Meaghan 1-4; FINLAY, Sarah 0-2; WALKER, Micah 0-1; TERRANCE, Brianna 0-1;
BRAVO, Nia 0-1; COBLE, Cassie 0-3), San Jose State 4-17 (Tauala, Jayzyl 2-4;
Hill, Alexis 1-2; James, Classye 1-2; Thomas, Chereese 0-5; Cunnigan, Ta'Rea
0-4). Fouled out--Cal State East Bay-COBLE, Cassie, San Jose State-James,
Classye; Tauala, Jayzyl. Rebounds--Cal State East Bay 49 (BRESHERS, Tori 8),
San Jose State 41 (Schill, Emily 13). Assists--Cal State East Bay 12
(FINNEGAN, Rachel 5), San Jose State 15 (Thomas, Chereese 5). Total
fouls--Cal State East Bay 29, San Jose State 22. Technical fouls--Cal State
East Bay-None, San Jose State-None. A-637
Exhibition Game