After Cal Poly’s win over CSUN in the Big West Tournament first round Tuesday, the Long Beach State women’s basketball team finally knows its opponent for the quarterfinals.
The 49ers practiced on Monday and Tuesday without knowing who they’d face on Wednesday to open the conference tournament. But LBSU head coach Jody Wynn said it didn’t matter who they played, the focus is all on LBSU.
“We’re concentrating on ourselves, we don’t know who we’re playing,” Wynn said. “We could play one of three different [teams] on Wednesday night, so we’re just working on ourselves.”
The 49ers finished the season strong with a five-game win streak that included a victory over Cal Poly on the road. Junior guard Anna Kim said she feels that the team has a hungry mindset going into the tournament.
“We’re going in confident,” Kim said. “We have good momentum winning at CSUN [in the last game of the regular season], and we’re just really comfortable where we’re at.”
Junior guard Raven Benton agreed with Kim and said that the team is happy where they are at going into the tournament.
“I think we’re all coming together as a unit with what we need to do defensively to stop teams,” Benton said. “I think we’re feeling good where we’re going to play and try to win.”
LBSU watched game film on Monday as a way to prepare for the tournament. Some players focused on mechanics while others focused on preparing their minds.
“My [mindset] is no matter who we play, we’re going to play our style of game,” Kim said. “And just stick to who we are.”
On the other hand, Benton said that she focusing of her own game so that on Wednesday she is ready to deliver whatever her team needs.
“Personally, I’m just thinking of all what I need to do for my team,” Benton said. “If it’s rebounding, defense, scoring, whatever they need me to do I’m just preparing myself to be able to do it.”
The 5-foot-10-inch junior scored 14 points in the first meeting against Cal Poly on Jan. 30 inside the Walter Pyramid and five points the second Feb. 24 at San Luis Obispo. Both games ended in 49er victories.
Despite the victories, LBSU will still have to be weary of a Cal Poly offense that ranks fourth in the Big West in points per game. They average 63.1 ppg.
LBSU will also have to watch out for the Mustang’s leading scorer junior forward Hannah Gilbert. The 6-foot-3-inch junior is averaging 12.8 points per game, is second in the conference with a 53.4 field goal percentage and ranks fourth with 8.6 rebounds per game.
Another dangerous player is sophomore guard Dynn Leaupepe, who in both games against LBSU was Cal Poly’s leading scorer. Leaupepe dropped 19 points in the first game and scored 18 in the second.
Cal Poly defeated CSUN in the first round of the Big West Tournament 72-51 Tuesday night.
The 49ers take on Cal Poly in the Big West Tournament quarterfinals at 6 p.m. inside the Bren Events Center in Irvine.