The Long Beach State women’s basketball team played its first Big West Conference home game at the Walter Pyramid against UC Santa Barbara, but fell 90-74 Saturday.
“It was probably our worst defensive game of the year,” head coach Jeff Cammon said. “I’m really disappointed in the way we came out defensively. We did a pretty good job up there when we played them — just very disappointed.”
LBSU (2-16, 0-5 Big West) freshman forward Naomi Hunt scored a career-high 28 points off the bench against the Gauchos. Hunt shot 11 of 13 from the field and grabbed five rebounds.
“Twenty-eight is cool since I put up the extra shots to get there,” Hunt said. “But at the same time I’d rather score zero and be better defensively.”
UC Santa Barbara (6-11, 3-2 Big West) attempted 31 3-pointers in the game and shot 42 percent. Freshman guard Sarah Bates shot 8 of 11 from the field and was responsible for six of the Gauchos 13 made 3-pointers. The Gauchos were led by redshirt senior Drew Edelman, who had 23 points and six rebounds on 10 of 13 shooting.
With Long Beach 10-point deficit at halftime, Hunt led the 49ers with nine points. She managed to get most of her points with her ability to spread the floor with her shooting and layups in the second half. However, UC Santa Barbara guards were able to expose Long Beach’s 2-3 zone which allowed the Gauchos to execute the whole game.
Long Beach senior guard Cecily Wilson was the only other 49er to score double-digits with 11 points on 5 of 6 shooting. Junior guard Martina McCowan had eight points along with four assists.
Although the Long Beach team is in rebuilding mode, Cammon understands the results could teach the younger players to play together.
“Right now it’s all about development,” Cammon said. “It’s about growing and building this program to where we want it to be. We’re trying to build a foundation.”
Long Beach will look to get its first conference win during its four-game homestand on Thursday at 7 p.m. against Cal Poly.