Point Park’s women’s basketball started the season with two losses after the game against East Stroudsburg University on Nov. 9 at the Pucillo Gymnasium in Millersville. The Pioneers lost the game 87-48. 

Pioneer Camille Fultz, a forward on the team, was impressed with East Stroudsburg’s play style but said that Point Park still held it down. 

“East Stroudsburg played very composed and was a master of the fundamentals,” Fultz said. “On the other hand, I believe we were more athletic and aggressive.” 

The Pioneers have only just begun the season with their first official game on Friday, Nov. 8, where they lost 69-47 against Millersville University. The first two games played were in the Atlantic Region Challenge, which was hosted by Millersville. 

Point Park’s game leaders against the East Stroudsburg Warriors were Emma Pavelek with 13 points, Fatim Sarr Ndow with 10 rebounds and Chloe Williams with one assist.  

“Every one of our girls believes in each other’s talent,” Fultz said. “We play for Point Park because we love the game, the school we represent, and the family this program has given us from our coaches, staff, teammates and supporters.”  

The first half found the Pioneers in a tough spot, as the Warriors took an early lead. East Stroudsburg climbed to six points during this time, while Point Park remained at two. The Pioneers remained in the running and made a comeback with the score at 8-7, Warriors still in the lead.  

However, by the Pioneers seventh point, they lost their momentum, and the Warriors got to18 points before Point Park’s eighth. After this, the Pioneers were unable to catch up, ending the first quarter with the score at 22-13.  

“It’s tough going against a team that has a very defined and mastered system when we are still in the process of adjusting to each other’s play styles,” Fultz said.  

Headed into the second quarter nine points down, Point Park was looking for a comeback. Unfortunately, the Warriors slipped further away from the Pioneers’ reach as the quarter progressed.  

Throughout the whole second quarter, the Pioneers only scored eight points. The Warriors more than doubled that number, with 20 points scored in the quarter. The second quarter ended with a score of 42-21.  

With the defeat of the first half weighing heavy on the minds of the Pioneers, they came into the second half making valiant efforts to catch up to East Stroudsburg.  

Point Park struggled to make a comeback, being down 27 points by the halfway mark of the third quarter. The Pioneers were unable to catch up, with the score being 66-37 by the end of the third quarter.  

The Pioneers went into the fourth quarter down 29 points, the biggest point gap between the two teams by that point.  

The fourth quarter started bleak, as the Warriors scored nine points before the Pioneers were able to get their first point in the quarter.  

East Stroudsburg kept its momentum throughout the rest of the fourth, leaving Point Park behind 39 points with a final score of 87-48.  

“Our eyes are set on improving and playing the best basketball we can in the long term,” Fultz said.  

Point Park leaves the game with an overall record of 0-2, and East Stroudsburg with an overall record of 2-0.  

The Pioneers are set to play their first Mountain East Conference (MEC) game on Thursday, Nov. 14, at the CCAC-Allegheny Gym in Pittsburgh, PA.  

“We have all the pieces to be a really good team, right now we are just in the process of putting them together and figuring out how to play at this level,” Fultz said. “As we get more comfortable, I expect our ball movement, chemistry and transition play to vastly improve.”