After capturing three straight wins away from home, the 49ers will conclude their four-game road swing against Pepperdine on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Malibu.
Five wins to one loss marks the 49ers’ best six-game start since the 1991-92 campaign. Senior Lauren Spargo gets to experience her team’s best start in her four seasons with Long Beach State, but sees room for refinement.
“It feels pretty amazing that this team is making a mark in [LBSU] women’s basketball,” Spargo said. “We haven’t been playing our best since it’s so early in the season, but we’ve found ways to win games ugly. We need to improve on rebounding and probably just tightening things up a bit – focus on details and stay relaxed.”
LBSU (5-1) leads the series record 11-3 against the Waves (3-3) after dominating them 74-61 at the Walter Pyramid last season, when Pepperdine finished with a 6-25 overall and 1-17 conference record.
Both teams from the 2013-14 campaigns will most likely see some familiar faces since the West Coast Conference foes will return six starters (Kelsey Brockway, Tessa Emerson, Allie Green, Bria Richardson, Keitra Wallace and Ea Shoushtari).
Senior guard Bria Richardson leads the Waves with an average of 15.3 points and 2.8 rebounds per game and holds a team-high 17 steals.
Sophomore guard Allie Green and junior forward Keitra Wallace are also big contributors to their squad, each grabbing a total of 35 boards (5.8 average), and each averaging 13.8 and 12.8 points, respectively.
The Waves are giving up almost six more rebounds than their opponents, which could make for a good defensive game for LBSU’s leading rebounder, junior Devin Hudson, who averages 8.0 rebounds.
Sophomore Raven Benton paces LBSU with a team-high 12.2 points per game, and follows Hudson with an average of 6.8 rebounds.
Sophomore Anna Kim averages 10.3 points and helps with 13 steals.
The 49ers will face the Waves on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Malibu.