NORTHRIDGE — What a difference playing a complete game can make for a team.
The Long Beach State women’s basketball team put all the pieces together en route to an 86-67 triumph over Cal State Northridge on Saturday.
“The kids came out and performed great and you’ve got to hand it to them because it was all down the bench,” LBSU head coach Jody Wynn said.
It was an evenly matched contest for most of the first half, as the score was tied five times and the lead changed on seven occasions.
The 49ers pulled out in front of the Matadors, 20-17, on a 3-point play by senior forward Ally Wade with 8:02 left in the first half.
LBSU (9-13, 5-4 Big West conference) finished a 7-2 run when Lindsey Beckner came up with a steal and Lauren Sims connected on a 3-pointer on the other end to put The Beach ahead, 27-19.
The Matadors stayed close by outscoring the 49ers, 12-11, over the next five and a half minutes.
With eight seconds remaining in the half, Wade acquired a steal and went coast-to-coast for the layup and drew the foul. Wade made the free-throw, completing her second 3-point play of the half, to give LBSU a 41-31 advantage heading into the locker room.
“We were all having fun and when we all have fun like that we bring energy to the floor and it makes everything so much easier,” Sims said, who scored a game high 19 points including five 3s.
Long Beach State sank 55.6 percent (15-of-27) of its attempted field goals during the first 20 minutes and also shot 38.5 percent (5-of-13) from 3-point range.
The 49ers didn’t let up in the second half.
Senior forward Brett Timmons, whom Wynn said played a fantastic game, wrapped up a 14-6 run for the ‘Niners when she scored a bucket off the glass.
Timmons’ basket extended the ‘Niner lead to 60-43 with 11:52 remaining.
Jazmyne Porter advanced the ‘Niner lead to 23, when she drained a 3-pointer to give LBSU a 71-48 lead.
Sophomore guard Tipesa Moorer put the finishing touches on the victory after sinking a pair of free-throws, putting the 49ers up 80-54 with 3:55 left to play, sailing on to sweep the season series against the Matadors.
“We’ve been breaking the game down into each possession, each four minutes, and after that each half,” Sims said. “The big thing for us is putting two halves together and we finally did that today.”
Karina Figueroa scored 16 points for The Beach, to go along with eight rebounds and six assists. Ally Wade finished with 15 points, Moorer contributed 10, and Timmons chipped in with eight.
“If we played harder, smarter and we played tougher regardless if we shot 53 percent or not, I thought we had a good chance and that’s what we really concentrated on,” Wynn said.
CSUN (3-16, 1-8 Big West) was led by Katrina Thompson’s 16 points. Violet Alama scored 15 points for the Matadors.
LBSU returns to the Walter Pyramid next Thursday, Feb. 11 when it hosts Cal Poly at 7 p.m.
Wynn said, “Hopefully we can just continue to build on this momentum from the second half against Fullerton, to this game here to propel us to a very tough week ahead.”