After falling to first-place Cal State Northridge on Thursday, the Long Beach State women’s basketball team closed out the 2013-2014 regular season with a win against UC Riverside to earn the No. 6 seed in the Big West Tournament.
Now scheduled to open the tournament against seventh-seeded Cal State Fullerton on Tuesday, the 49ers (16-14, 8-8 Big West) ended a three-game losing streak on Saturday; their only three-game skid of the season.
Although Senior Night was close for much of the game, the Matadors (12-4, 16-4 Big West) managed to pull ahead by nine with 1:47 left in the first half on a jumper from freshman Janae Sharpe. However, following a three-pointer from Cinnamon Lister just under two minutes into the second half, The Beach went on an 11-0 run that cut the Matador lead to 34-33 with 14:13 left in regulation.
Moments later, Lister netted another trifecta that led to a six-point CSUN lead. LBSU then went on a seven-point run that would give them the 47-46 lead, their first lead after trailing the previous 29 minutes. Both teams traded baskets the next three minutes but the Matadors would take their final lead on a layup by Bernadette Fong to give CSUN the 50-49 advantage.
Still trailing by one with 11 seconds on the clock, the 49ers failed to get a shot off to take the lead after a steal from Long Beach native Breeyon Alexander.
“[Breeyon Alexander] made a great defensive play,” Wynn said. “You gotta give Northridge credit. She read it and anticipated it and she got a great stop.”
CSUN went on to take a 52-49 victory.
“I’m very proud of our girls for competing tonight,” Wynn said. “We made a step in the right direction. I think we could’ve secured a few more defensive rebounds but it was an ugly offensive game as both teams shot [under 30 percent].”
On a night in which LBSU’s lone senior, Jade Wilson, was honored, the Tempe, Ariz. native said she was proud of her teammates for the fight she saw in them.
“I’m proud of my teammates,” Wilson said. “They came out and battled through adversity. We didn’t get the win, but I saw the fight.”
Two days later, the ‘Niners traveled to the SRC Arena and played a game that wound up having 18 lead changes and 10 ties. While both teams had a slow start on the offensive end, with UCR (6-23, 2-14) holding a 5-4 lead five minutes in, LBSU used a 7-2 run to go on top with 11:05 left in the half and would eventually take a 41-35 lead at the half.
The Beach, which took advantage of their opportunities at the charity stripe by going 34-for-36 on the night, outscored the Highlanders 6-2 in the first two minutes of the final half of the regular season and took a 47-37 lead at that point.
UCR managed to go on a 15-4 run to take their first lead in the half with 12:52 to go. But freshman Raven Benton, who was one of two 49ers to foul out, followed that lead change up with a trey that would recapture the lead briefly.
With just under five minutes left, the ‘Niners made a final push following the early exit of Big West scoring leader Brittany Crain (19.2 ppg), who committed her fifth and final foul on a drive from Wilson. The Beach would then cruise to a 89-81 win after numerous trips to the free throw line.
LBSU was led by junior Ella Clark who scored 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Wilson managed to score 15 points and Sanchez, who made all of her 11 shots at the line, also scored 15 and registered seven boards and five assists.
Tip-off for the Tuesday night game against CSUF is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid.