After a thrilling Big West Championship victory over UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, the Long Beach State women’s basketball team hosted a NCAA Selection Show Watch Party at Legends on 2nd Street in Long Beach Monday.
The 49ers and fans that attended the event sat on the edge of their seats for almost 30 minutes until LBSU found out where it was heading.
The 49ers landed the No. 15 seed in the Stockton Regional Bracket and will be going up against the No. 2 seeded Oregon State.
The Beavers finished the regular season 29-4 and advanced all the way to the PAC-12 Tournament Final, where they lost to Stanford.
49ers head coach Jody Wynn is excited to play against the Beavers, and is thrilled to finally see the Long Beach State name come across the ESPN screen.“I’m just so excited,” Wynn said. “It’s an unbelievable feeling to see Long Beach State come across the ESPN screen and I’m happy for our players, happy for our community and excited go up to Oregon.”Despite the anticipation, Wynn felt that they had a high possibility of playing against Oregon State in the first round.“We kind of figured that we’ve be maybe matched up against [Oregon State],” Wynn said. “They’re a great program, PAC-12 [regular season] champs, [have] one of the best coaches in the nation. We’re just really excited to be able to play them and have an opportunity to represent the Big West [Conference].”
Just like Wynn, seniors Anna Kim and Madison Montgomery are eager to play in their first NCAA Tournament and to cap off their senior seasons at the Beach.
“Words can’t describe it honestly,” Kim said. “We feel blessed. I’m very honored to have played with these four girls and to cap off our final season together like this is memorable and I’m just really excited and happy for everyone.”
Back in December of 2016 the 49ers had an opportunity to play against Oregon State in the Play4Kay Shootout Tournament that was held in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The 49ers, of course, did not get the opportunity because they lost to Oklahoma State in the second round, 63-57.
Kim feels that if they would have beaten the Cowboys, that they would have given the Beavers a run for its money.
Montgomery feels the same way as Kim.
“I totally agree,” Montgomery said. “That Vegas tournament was really good for us. I think it gave us a lot of experience and that really helped us within the Big West Tournament. We also got a chance to watch [Oregon State] play a little bit and they got a chance to watch us play a little bit. So, it’s going to be exciting to see how we match up.”
This NCAA Tournament for the 49ers marks its first ever trip in 25 years. The last time LBSU attended the tourney was in 1992 and the last time they had a victory in the NCAA Tournament was on March 16, 1991, where they defeated 5th seeded USC, 83-58.
The 49ers will play the Beavers on Friday at the Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Oregon. Tip off begins at 2 p.m. Pacific Time.