The Long Beach State women’s basketball team will take its farthest road trip of the season to Anchorage, Alaska for the GCI Great Alaska Shootout on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The 49ers will open the tournament against Boise State at 7 p.m. Tuesday, and play either Yale or Alaska Anchorage on Wednesday.
Last week, the 49ers nearly snatched a win against defending Pac-12 champions in Southern California, but fell in a close 90-85 overtime game. Although The Beach let a victory slip, the team is off to its best three-game start since the 2004-05 campaign when it also opened with a 2-1 record.
LBSU is tied in its all-time series with Boise State at 4-4. The last time the two teams met in 2001, the 49ers beat the Broncos 87-66. Forward Deanna Weaver leads BSU with 15.3 per game and the most 3-pointers made with nine total. BSU center Miquelle Askew leads her team with 7.0 rebounds per game.
Tournament host Alaska Anchorage is a part of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, which is one of the top NCAA Division II conferences in the nation. The Seawolves will start the tournament with an undefeated record, holding a four-game win streak. They are led by Leah Bonner, who averages 13.8 points and 12.0 rebounds.
Leading the way for the 49ers are sophomore guards Raven Benton and Anna Kim, sophomore Madison Montgomery and junior Devin Hudson.
Benton hit double figures for the first time this season when she scored a game-high 22 points versus USC. She had the same strong force last season against the Trojans when she scored a career-high 26 points. Aside from proving her scoring ability with a team-best 12.3 points per game this season, Benton is also averaging 7.0 rebounds.
Kim averages 11.7 points and holds the school’s all-time top 3-point field goal percentage at 43.4 percent.
Montgomery and Hudson have been strong in the post with 13 and 17 total rebounds, respectively. The duo also took the team lead with 13 points each in the team’s 85-73 win against Seattle.
After the tournament, the 49ers will head to Oregon to face Portland State on Saturday at 1 p.m.