Sports, Women's Basketball, Women's Sports

Long Beach State women’s basketball team’s stellar shooting helps them defeat UC Irvine

The Long Beach State women’s basketball team beat UC Irvine 87-74 in dominating fashion on Saturday at the Walter Pyramid.

The 49ers (20-9, 11-3) took an early eight-point lead in the first 2:08 and led the Anteaters from start to finish. (4-24, 2-12).

LBSU dropped four three-pointers in the first quarter while senior guard Anna Kim scored six points and senior forward Madison Montgomery scored seven, which included two triples.

The Anteaters shot the ball poorly in the first, shooting 30 percent from the field and going one for six from behind the arc.

The 49ers outscored the Anteaters in the first, 22-10.

The 49ers’ hot scoring carried into the second quarter as they made 68.8 percent from the field, which included going six for eight from long distance.

“It was being urgent defensively,” 49ers head coach Jody Wynn said. “Starting the game with a defensive mentality, playing with urgency, playing disciplined and letting our defense ignite our offense and not focus so much on offense.”

The defense of the 49ers helped pick up eight turnovers in the second quarter and forced 16 turnovers in the first half.

Those turnovers helped the 49ers add 19 points to their huge lead in the first half. LBSU also snagged seven steals.

Senior guard Raven Benton was on fire in the second quarter, scoring 13 points, four assists and snatching three rebounds.

“First quarter I was facilitating a little bit and seeing how it is on the court,” Benton said. “And in the second quarter I knew that I needed to be a little bit more aggressive. I tried to shoot a little more and got my teammates open, so it was a great second quarter.”

The Anteaters’ struggles continued in the second as they missed their four three-pointer shot attempts and went 33.3 percent from the field.

“[LBSU] hit every shot that they took,” Anteater head coach Tamara Inoue said. “We missed every shot that we took, so that’s pretty much what happened.”

By halftime, the 49ers had a commanding 50-20 lead.

In the third, the Anteaters finally got into a rhythm as they made 53.4 percent from the field and went six for nine behind the arc.

Although sophomore guard Andee Ritter dropped three of four triples in the third, the 49ers did not let the Anteaters get close to the lead as they finished the quarter leading 70-44.

In the fourth, things got a little bit dicey for the 49ers as they allowed the Anteaters to score 30 points and come within 11 points late in the game.

“We were playing kids more minutes than they’ve played in a long time,” Wynn said. “Although we do play our bench, [UCI] caught fire. Credit [Ritter and Irene Chavez]. Those two kids had to step up, yeah we left them open, but you still got to step up and knock them down and they did a good job.”

Anteaters senior Irene Chavez scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, which included five triples. Meanwhile, Ritter added six points and freshman guard Brooke Bayman added nine points in the fourth.

Despite catching fire eventually, it was too little too late as the 49ers held onto the lead.

UCI finished the game with three players in double-digit points. Ritter finished with the game-high by both teams with 21 points, Chavez put up 20 and Bayman had 13.

The 49ers had two players in double-digit points, with junior guard Jessica Gertz finishing with 17 points and Benton with 13.

The 49ers will look to win their final home game of the season as they take on CSUN on Thursday at the Walter Pyramid. Tip off begins at 7 p.m.

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