Sports, Women's Basketball

Guard play delivers ‘Wynn’-ing formula in opener

Box score

The Long Beach State women’s basketball team held Prairie View A&M scoreless during the final two minutes of the season-opening game to beat the defending Southwestern Athletic Conference champions, 76-68, Friday night at the Walter Pyramid.

First-year head coach Jody Wynn recorded her first victory at The Beach and the program notched its first season-opening win in five seasons, as 894 spectators looked on.

“It’s beautiful to see when we play as a team, the kids gave the effort that we knew they could give” Wynn said. “It’s nice they got to showcase it in front of a lot of people.”

The second half belonged to The Beach (1-0). Back-to back 3-pointers by senior guard Lauren Sims put LBSU on top 38-34 and they never relinquished the lead.

Sims shot the lights out from 3-point land, going 6-for-9 behind the arc, all of which came on assists by senior guard Karina Figueroa.

“Going out there and finally getting to play with a healthy Karina felt amazing,” said Sims, who finished the night with 20 points making 7-of-11 field goals. “I owe it all to her, she found me on every shot.”

Sims initiated a 16-2 scoring spree by The Beach that was anchored by the solid play of senior forward Whitney Fields. Fields scored eight points in three minutes, including a pair of free throws and a turn-around bank shot in the paint.

Fields, an All-Big West preseason selection, made 5-of-10 field goals and ended the game with 12 points.

PVAMU (0-1) battled back and eventually tied the game at 66 points apiece with 4:27 left in the game. With the Lady Panthers staging a comeback, Wynn opted not to call a timeout.

“I didn’t want to panic right then,” she said. “Defensively we needed to tighten up some things and I wanted them to play through it.”

The Beach had a tough time containing the efforts of PVAMU’s senior forward Gatti Werema, who led all scorers with a game-high 25 points and also grabbed 12 rebounds.

Candice Thomas also contributed 18 points for the Lady Panthers.

After taking an entire year off from playing basketball because of an injury, Figueroa returned to the court with a vengeance.

The senior guard poured in 23 total points, shooting 7-for-14 from the floor, was a perfect 9-for-9 from the charity stripe and also dished out a game-high 10 assists.

PVAMU didn’t play help defense very well and were unable to stop Figueroa’s penetration to the basket.

“I had to attack and I knew they couldn’t stop the pick and roll, so I just keep driving,” Figueroa said. “Once I drew the defense I kicked it out to Sims or Ally [Wade] and they nailed the 3.”

PVAMU head coach and Hall of Famer Cynthia Cooper-Dyke was impressed with Figueroa.

“She did a tremendous job of constantly breaking down our defense and not only creating for herself, but also her team,” Cooper-Dyke said.

Figueroa became the 21st player in the history of the women’s basketball program to score 1,000 points when she sank a couple of free throws to put the Beach ahead 68-66 with 4:07 remaining.

Cooper-Dyke said it was Figueroa’s ability to get to the free-throw line late in the game that stopped her team’s run. Free throws were key down the stretch for LBSU, as they accounted for their only points for more than three minutes.

As the clock ticked down with under a minute left to play, Figueroa sliced through defenders to score a layup and draw the foul. The crowd erupted as the ball dropped down the net and Figueroa displayed an adrenaline-charged fist pump.

After a missed 3-point attempt by PVAMU, senior forward Ally Wade pulled down the rebound and The Beach held on to the ball as the clock expired to emerge victorious.

The 49ers out-shot the Lady Panthers 51 percent to 39.4 percent from the floor, and a staggering 50 percent to 17.6 percent from 3-point range.

“It’s a great way to start the season,” Wynn said.

The ‘Niners got the first half rolling with a 9-0 run after PVAMU scored the first basket of the game. The Lady Panthers retaliated with a 14-0 run to go up 16-9 with 13:02 remaining.

LBSU answered every run by its opponent with one of their own. The 49ers scored 11 consecutive points to retake the lead 20-16 with just under nine minutes left to play.

After exchanging buckets and lead changes, the first half ended with PVAMU leading LBSU 34-32 at the break.

Wynn was joined on the sidelines by her mentor, friend and LBSU alumnus Mark Trakh, who Wynn has known since she was in fifth grade. According to Wynn, she asked Trakh to be her honorary coach because she couldn’t imagine coaching her first game as a head coach without him.

“I was honored that she asked me, it meant so much to me,” Trakh said. “I’m 1-0 as an honorary coach and now I’m going to retire.” 

The 49ers return to action Monday night to host Loyola Marymount at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid.

 

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