The Long Beach State women’s basketball team has lived to see another day.
In a first round matchup that was deja vu for the returning players on last year’s team, the 49ers prevailed this time around, winning in a 64-60 thriller against a Cal State Fullerton team that they had split the season series with.
The ‘Niners (17-14, 9-8), were ranked just one seed above the Titans (12-18, 8-9) this season as they shared an identical record in the Big West.
“This game has been in the back of all our minds since March 6 when we exited early against Cal State Fullerton last year,” head coach Jody Wynn said. “We didn’t know who we were gonna play, but [that loss] fueled us all season.”
In a game of do or die for both squads, the 49ers obtained the early 9-2 advantage just over three minutes into the game following a trey from junior Lauren Spargo. But the Titans chipped away at the early lead and managed to take go up 15-14.
The 49ers ultimatley got back on top, though, taking a 31-28 lead into halftime thanks in part to a pair of threes by Lauren Spargo over the span of less of a minute.
“There’s a level of comfort being in your own gym but what motivated me was not wanting to lay down and let them beat us,” Spargo said. “This is our gym and we’re not going to let a team come in and beat us twice in a row.”
The Beach returned to the court after the break hoping to minimize the turnovers in the second half after a first period in which they had 16, five more than visiting CSUF. But despite those efforts they finished the game with 26 turnovers, 18 of which were steals by CSUF.
Meneses got things started with a three early on in the second half, but the ‘Niners traded baskets until the 9:02 mark when the 49ers began a run that was sparked by an impressive pass from Alex Sanchez to junior Jade Wilson that made it 44-39. CSUF followed that up with an air ball from long range from Titans’ guard Samantha Logan and the 49ers went on to take a seven-point lead on a score the following possession.
However, the Titans managed to cut the 49ers lead to 50-49 with 5:22 left in regulation, and neither team would see anything bigger than a three-point lead the rest of the way.
With the game tied up 52-52, a Spargo three on a quick shovel pass from Fullerton native Anna Kim made it a 55-52 game. But the Titans would retake the lead after a basket in the paint from Kathleen Iwuoha made it 56-55 with 3:22 to go and forced coach Wynn to call a timeout.
Following the timeout and four free throws from the Titans to give them a three-point lead at 60-57 with 2:34 to go, the ‘Niners closed the game out on a 7-0 run that extended the 49ers’ season. Spargo, who scored a game-high 19 points on 4-for-7 shooting from three, was fouled on a three and sunk all three shots at the charity stripe when it mattered most.
“We’re just really proud of our relentlessness and our urgency and I think we’ve grown a lot since March 6 when our hearts were broken,” Wynn said.
The 49ers will attempt to extend their season at the Walter Pyramid once again when they face University of Hawai’i at 6 p.m.