Women’s Basketball: 49ers’ hot shooting torches UC Santa Barbara
The 49ers snapped a seven-game losing streak to UC Santa Barbara after cruising to a 78-63 win over the defending Big West Conference champions, Thursday evening at The Thunderdome.
LBSU (7-9, 3-1 Big West Conference) shot 51 percent from the field, including a 54.5 percent clip (12-for-22) from 3-point range.
Senior Lauren Sims led LBSU with 22 points, including a 6-for-8 performance from beyond the arc. Classmate Karina Figueroa also netted her fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 assists.
The ‘Niners also received contributions from sophomore Tipesa Moorer, who had a career-high 14 points and six rebounds, and junior Melanie Lisnock, who added 12 points.
UCSB (5-11, 2-2 Big West) shot 44.6 percent from the field and was paced by Emilie Johnson, who finished with 17 points. Jordan Franey added 11 points, while Ariana Gnekow chipped in 10.
The 49ers maintained their hot shooting after the break, going on a 13-4 run, capped by a Sims jumper at the 15:55 mark, to take a 50-35 lead. LBSU held its largest advantage at 19 before UCSB slowly trimmed the deficit to eight with 8:02 remaining.
Moorer eventually ended the Gaucho comeback with a jumper, sparking a 12-4 run that gave The Beach a 68-53 lead that it never surrendered.
After trading baskets for most of the first half, The Beach pulled away late in the period after back-to-back Sims threes in the final minute to give the 49ers a 37-29 advantage with 39 seconds before halftime. LBSU took a 37-31 lead into the intermission.
LBSU travels to Cal Poly on Saturday for a 4 p.m. Big West showdown.
Beach women add new recruit
First-year head coach Jody Wynn bagged her fourth Class of 2010 recruit when Alex Sanchez (Anaheim, Calif.) verbally committed to LBSU for 2010-11.
Sanchez, a 5-foot-10 forward at powerhouse Troy High School, joins fall signees Janae Coffee, Brandi Henton and Chantel Dooley as part of Wynn’s first recruiting class.
The Anaheim native can make her committment official when the NCAA regular signing period begins on April, 14.
Men’s Volleyball: The Beach sneaks past Gauchos in conference opener
The Long Beach State men’s volleyball team pulled out a five-set win over UC Santa Barbara on Thursday night in its first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match of the season.
The 49ers (2-2, 1-0 MPSF) defeated the host Gauchos 23-30, 30-24, 24-30, 30-26, 15-9 after a five-point spurt to close out the final set.
Senior Dan Alexander drilled four of his five service aces in the deciding set to help LBSU overcome an early 5-3 hole in the fifth frame. He also chipped in 10 kills on .421 hitting.
The Beach went up 11-9 on a kill from sophomore middle blocker Jim Baughman, who led all ‘Niners with 19 kills and 10 digs. After a UCSB attack error gave LBSU another point, Baughman served up an ace to help the visitors pull out to a 13-9 advantage.
Senior All-American Dean Bittner sealed the match with two straight kills, finishing his night with 17.
The 49ers return to the Walter Pyramid on Friday night to host Cal State Northridge in a 7 p.m. MPSF showdown.