Coming off of two losses against the Tritons at UC San Diego and the UC Irvine Anteaters, the CSUB women’s basketball team (4-19, 3-11 Big West) headed to the Big West Tournament before going to Henderson, Nevada on Tuesday. 

After previous wins against Cal Poly and UC Davis in February, they had finally found rhythm and were excited to play according to Women’s Basketball coach Greg McCall.  

In their desire to finish strongly as possible before the tournament, McCall juggled the starting lineup, however, it was not enough to win.  

McCall’s history began at Cal State as a grad assistant during the ‘97 National Championship, then he went on to be an assistant coach for four years, and now has been here for eleven years.  

Now as the head coach of Women’s Basketball he could not emphasize enough, “This is Home.” 

When discussing his team, McCall couldn’t stress enough, “We can be a really scary team since we know we can win.”  

The four outstanding female basketball stars currently dominating the court are Miracle Saxon, Andie Easley, Jayden Eggleston, and Vanessa Austin have definitely found their place on the scoreboard.  

Regarding the tournament, the team needs to keep the high energy and execute both ways, defensively and offensively.  

As Coach McCall emphasized, “We’re trending in the right direction.”  

The team was looking to take high hopes with them into the tournament.  

Player Spotlights  

Jayden Eggleston 

For Jayden Eggleston, Basketball came at the early age of four thanks to her step dad. 

Who in turn helped her grow as a player, loves the competitiveness and to win.  

One of Eggleston’s main reasons she chose CSUB’s program is because it is close to home and has a family-oriented atmosphere.  

“Coach wants you to do your best on and off the court,” Eggleston said.  

With a little bit of a rocky season, the team has been able to grow and come together.  

Being able to have fans in the stands this season has been an amazing experience by bringing in so much energy and as a result the team can put on a show for the crowd.  

However, Eggleston acknowledges that adversity can be a challenge.  

“To win you have to know how to lose,” Eggleston stressed.  

When it comes down to the Big West Tournament in Nevada next week, the excitement is high with Eggleston being able to showcase her skills.  

Vanessa Austin  

Senior center Vanessa Austin’s love for basketball came from her dad who played overseas professionally.  

“My craft us tailored after his,” Austin states.  

And her reasoning for choosing CSUB’s program isn’t far off, between Coach McCall playing basketball in college, and the history with her dad it all came naturally to her.  

With this season not being the record they wanted that doesn’t mean the team hasn’t been putting in the work.  

Austin couldn’t speak higher by saying, “We come in everyday and try to work hard.” 

With fans back in the stands, emotions have escalated and the fans are the ones bringing all the crazy energy. 

Intense feelings are now underway as the players head to Nevada this week.  

“Nevada is just a great atmosphere and we have not lost faith,” exclaimed Austin.