Men’s Basketball: Gilling earns first-ever conference weekly honor
Long Beach State guard Stephan Gilling was named the Big West Conference men’s basketball Player of the Week, the conference announced Monday afternoon.
The senior led the 49ers to a 96-61 win over Cal State Monterey Bay on Saturday, scoring a career-high 28 points, 25 of which came in the first half. Gilling finished 10-of-17 from the field and tied a 49er single-game record with eight 3-pointers.
The Chino Hills native also dropped a team-high 18 points in a loss at No. 2 Texas last Monday, draining six 3-pointers.
For the week, Gilling averaged 23.0 points per game and shot 53.8 percent (14-of-26) from the field.
It is the first career weekly award for Gilling and third for an LBSU player this year.
The 49ers host Utah State at the Walter Pyramid for a 7 p.m. non-conference showdown on Friday.
Women’s Basketball: 49ers go winless in San Diego
The Long Beach State women’s basketball team fell to the University of San Diego, 67-60, Sunday afternoon at Jenny Craig Pavilion.
Senior Karina Figueroa scored a game-high 25 points on 7-for-18 shooting from the field and a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line. Senior Lauren Sims chipped in 19 points (7-of-10) for LBSU.
USD (6-6) outrebounded The Beach, 36-28, including a 19-7 advantage on the offensive boards.
The 49ers (3-7) shot 54.2 percent from the field in the first half and was 4-of-10 from beyond the arc, but USD pulled away in the second half, going on a 14-2 run to go up 52-41 at the 11:29 mark.
The Toreros held a comfortable lead until Figueroa completed a three-point play to cut the deficit to seven at 63-56. LBSU trimmed the deficit to, 65-60, with just under a minute to play and that was the closest the 49ers would get.
Sam Child led USD with 17 points, while Morgan Woodrow added 13. Emily Hatch had a game-high nine rebounds.
The ‘Niners return to the Walter Pyramid on Sunday, Dec. 20 to host Idaho at 2 p.m., marking the beginning of a five-game homestand.
San Diego State 67, Long Beach State 62
Long Beach State built up an eight-point lead only to let it slip away in a 67-62 loss to host San Diego State Friday evening at Viejas Arena.
The 49ers (3-6) shot 46.7 percent from 3-point range, but were outrebounded, 35-28.
Senior Ally Wade led The Beach with 18 points and eight rebounds, going 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. Senior Lauren Sims finished with 17 points, while classmate Karina Figueroa and junior Melanie Lisnock added 13 and 10 points, respectively.
The 49ers were in control until a pair of Aztec free throws gave SDSU a 56-54 lead with 4:05 to play.
LBSU responded with a Lisnock jumper on the ensuing possession, but SDSU pulled away after sinking three of four free throws down the stretch.
Quenese Davis led the Aztecs with a game-high 22 points, while Jessika Bradley finished with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.
LBSU returns to the court on Sunday when faces the University of San Diego at Jenny Craig Pavilion. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
Women’s Soccer: Bullock earns All-Region recognition
Midfielder Lindsay Bullock was named to the All-West Region team as announced by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
Bullock garnered second-team recognition for the second consecutive year. The junior finished the 2009 season as the 49ers’ second-leading scorer with four goals and nine points. She also led the team and ranked fifth in the Big West with 48 shots.
The Manhattan Beach native is a two-time first-team All-Big West selection and ranks among the Long Beach State career leaders in shots (3rd, 138), game-winning goals (3rd, 6), goals (5th, 20) and points (T-6th, 40).
Men’s Volleyball: LBSU picked to finish seventh in conference
The Long Beach State men’s volleyball team was selected to finish seventh in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in the conference’s preseason coaches’ poll.
LBSU, which finished seventh in the MPSF with a 14-14 overall record last season, returns six starters, including senior Dean Bittner, who was a first-team All-America pick last year.
Bittner will be joined by fellow All-America (2008) pick Dan Alexander, a middle blocker who earned first-team All-America honors as a sophomore.
The 49ers kick off their 2010 season on Jan. 7 at the Elephant Bar Tournament in Santa Barbara.