The Long Beach State women’s basketball team got off to a shaky start and never recovered.
The 49ers (12-15, 8-6 Big West Conference) were defeated by UC Davis, 70-46, in front of a crowd of 647 on Thursday night at the Walter Pyramid.
LBSU watched the Aggies open up the first half with a 14-0 run and was held scoreless for the first four minutes until senior guard Karina Figueroa drained jumper to get the ‘Niners on the scoreboard.
UCD (18-8, 10-3 Big West) proceeded to outscore LBSU 17-6 over the next 11 minutes, limiting the 49ers to just two field goals.
With 5:26 remaining in the first half, The Beach finally reached double digit scoring when senior forward Brett Timmons made a pair of free throws.
Last week in Davis, the 49ers’ offense had only 19 points at intermission. On Thursday, the ‘Niner offensive output was less than that.
LBSU trailed the Aggies, 38-17, at halftime.
“Usually when we’re down, we have a fight in us,” sophomore guard Tipesa Moorer said. “But I don’t think we had that fight tonight.”
Long Beach’s offense struggled mightily, as the team made just 23.1 percent (6-of-26) of attempted field goals in the opening period, including 20.0 percent (3-of-15) from 3-point range.
UCD on the other hand, made 48.1 percent (13-of-27) of its field goal attempts, and 66.7 percent (6-for-9) of shots from beyond the arc.
Most of the damage had been caused by UCD’s aggressive trap defense.
Beach head coach Jody Wynn said it was difficult for the 49ers’ small guards to see over the traps due to the Aggies’ height advantage.
“They’re very long,” Wynn said. “Take out their starting guard and they’re all over six feet.”
LBSU scored seven points to kick off the second half, cutting the Aggie lead to, 42-24, with 16:01 left to play.
There would be no second half surge to get the 49ers back into the game, as UCD maintained its large lead en route to a victory.
For the game, LBSU shot a season-low 25.5 percent from the field (13-of-51), including a 7-of-28 mark (25.0 percent) in 3-point attempts.
The ‘Niners did however outrebound the Aggies, 42-35.
“Even though we did outrebound them, it’s not going to win us a game,” senior guard Lauren Sims said. “There’s other components that we have to put together.”
Figueroa led The Beach with a team-high 11 points and Ally Wade contributed with 10 points. Moorer finished with seven points and eight rebounds, while Timmons pulled down a season-high nine boards.
UCD was paced by Vicky Deely’s 13 points, although every Aggie that entered the game was able to score.
LBSU plays its final home game of the season against Pacific on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 4p.m.