Beach Classic to Feature N. Arizona, New Orleans
49ers Close Out 2003 This Weekend
December 16, 2003
PDF Version of Release
2003-04 Roster
2003-04 Schedule and Results BEACH CLASSIC
NORTHERN ARIZONA (4-1), THURSDAY, 7:30 P.M.
NAU under new Head Coach Laurie Kelly have won four straight, including wins over CS Northridge (68-55) and Pacific (74-56)... the team's lone loss is to Arizona (80-67)... 6-2 freshman forward Alyssa Wahl (13.4) and 6-0 senior forward Alexis Rhodes (12.8) leads four players in double figures... the team is shooting 45% from the field and averaging 68.4 points per game.
NEW ORLEANS (3-2), SATURDAY, 5 P.M.
Feature three seniors from the area in forward Sowo Varney (Lakewood), wing LaToya Clark (Long Beach) and forward Chrystal Johnson (Bellflower)... UNO has lost two straight, both on the road at Vandy, 75-56 and at LA-Monroe, 80-58... senior guard Monique Taylor is averaging 13.8 points, while Clark is at a 9.2 clip... Johnson has started three games and is averaging 6.0 points per game... the team is shooting 38%.
49ERS CLOSE OUT 2003 WITH BEACH CLASSIC
Long Beach State (2-5) will close out the 2003 year and its three-game homestand with the 16th Beach Classic, featuring Northern Arizona (4-1) and New Orleans (3-2). LBSU will host NAU on Thursday at 7:30 p.m., and UNO on Saturday at 5 p.m. in a doubleheader with the men's team. Sandwiched in between on Friday at 7:30 p.m. is a game between NAU and UNO. All LBSU games can be heard live at www.longbeachstate.com.
THE HEGARTY FILE
Mary Hegarty, one of the 15 greatest players in UCLA women's basketball history (along with current assistant and Hall of Famer Denise Curry), begins her first season at the helm of the 49ers. Hegarty previously coached 10 seasons at Chapman University in Orange County, going 160-92 (.635), averaging 16 wins a season after the team won just two games the year prior to her arrival. Over the past three seasons, Chapman, a non-scholarship, unaffiliated Division-III program reached the last three straight NCAA Tournaments with at-large berths and went 57-24 (.704), including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2001-02. She appeared in four NCAAs in her 10 seasons.
LAST TWO WEEKS
FRESNO STATE 65, LBSU 60: The Bulldogs converted 24 second half free throws, compared to just 14 by LBSU to nip The Beach by five as Petra Gläser led three 49ers in double figures with 18 points. For the second straight game, the 49ers with a new starting lineup for the second straight game, shot 50% from the field, but could that basket which put them over the top. McCutcheon's three-pointer with five seconds left brought LBSU within one as the 49ers fought its way back after trailing by 10 early in the second half.
LBSU 65, SAN DIEGO 57: Charles Dickens' only wrote it better, in a tale of two halves, the 49ers trailed by as many as 13, shooting 37% in the first half, before hitting 67% in the second half en route to their second come from behind victory of the season. BWC Player of the Week Crystal McCutcheon hit 6-of-7 shots for 13 second half points to tie a season-high with 21 points, while Petra Gläser added 15 points.
LMU 66, LBSU 53: The Beach played the Lions to within a few baskets until the 16 minute mark of the first half, before LMU outscored LBSU 33-20 the rest of the way to win. LBSU shot just 38% from the field as Petra Gläser led the 49ers with 16 points and Jayme Connors added 10 rebounds.
COMEBACK KIDS
In each of the two wins this season, the 49ers have been forced to come from behind to win, trailing by double digits in the first half. Against San Diego, the 49ers overcame a 13-point deficit to win, while against Eastern Washington, LBSU was down by 12 early in the second half.
TWEAKING THE STARTING FIVE
A tweaking of the starting lineup at San Diego resulted in a key road win for the 49ers, 65-57. Lauren Bull was inserted into the lineup at small forward, while Crystal McCutcheon moved to the off-guard spot and Christina Mack ran the point. In the two games (San Diego and Fresno State) the team has shot over 50% twice, after barely inching past 45% over the first five contests. McCutcheon has thrived, averaging 16.0 points and 6.5 rebounds, while Gläser has continued her steady climb hitting double digits in six straight games. The bench has also stepped up with Candice Wilson averaging 4.5 assists, including a season-high 13 points versus Fresno, while Jennifer Baker has averaged 7.0 points and 5.5 rebounds.
LEADING THE CHARGE
After averaging 10.8 points per game over the first five games off the bench, sophomore guard Crystal McCutcheon (Lancaster) has stepped it up a notch, averaging 16.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, including a season-tying 21 at San Diego and a season-high seven rebounds versus Fresno State, over her last two starts. McCutcheon's .554 clip from the field is amongst Big West leaders as is her 12.8 points and 2.8 assists per game. She has led the team in scoring in four games.
McCUTCHEON SPARKS WEEKLY AWARD
Thanks to 13 second half points en route to a season-high 21 points against San Diego, guard Crystal McCutcheon (Lancaster) was named the Big West's Player of the Week on December 7. The former Prep Player of the Year sat out last year after transferring from Pepperdine. It is the first weekly honor for the sophomore guard. McCutcheon averaged 15.0 points per game shot 60% for the week averaging 3.0 steals and 1.0 block per game.
BULLYING HER WAY INTO THE STARTING LINEUP
Senior wing Lauren Bull (Rockford, IL) has made the most of her senior season, so far, scoring nine points twice and 12 points against Alabama two weeks ago. Bull scored nine points on Sunday in her first start of the season. Bull is averaging 5.7 points per game, shooting 47% from the field and 30% from three. Her 74 career three's is just five away from cracking the top-five all-time.
DOUBLING UP THE MIDDLE
Six-foot-six center Petra Gläser (Amtsberg, Germany) has scored in double digits in each of the last six contests, moving her average to a team-best 13.6 points per game after a season-high 18 versus Fresno State. She is currently second with a 72% clip from the free throw line and 4.7 rebounds per game.
GRABBING THE REBOUND
Forward Jayme Connors (Las Vegas) continues to pick up the errant shot, averaging a team-best 6.6 rebounds per game after her second double-digit rebound performance of the season, 10, against Loyola Marymount. Connors is third on the team with 8.7 points per game, hitting a team-best 79% from the free throw line.
DEFENSIVE STOPPER
Though it does not equate to the box score, junior guard Christina Mack (Phoenix) continues to cause havoc on a team's backcourt with her defense. Mack is averaging a team-best 1.7 steals per game and keeps opponents honest with a team-best 33% clip from three.
49ERS PICKED THIRD
LBSU was picked to finish third in both the coaches and media pre-season polls. UC Santa Barbara, which has won the last eight Big West titles was picked to win it. The 49ers have won eighteen conference championships in its history and reached seven Big West Tournament Championship games since 1989.
INJURY REPORT
Redshirt guard Liz Sun (Chatsworth, CA) continues to work for a possible December return after two separate knee injuries while forward Denise Hagen's (Kenmore, WA) could be available this weekend after missing the first seven games with an ankle injury.
STRONG TRADITION
The Long Beach State program was ranked in the top-10 for much of the 1980's and have finished ranked in the top-20 10 times in its history. For 215 straight weeks from 1979 to 1991, The Beach were ranked in the top-25. LBSU has won 18 conference titles and reached 16 NCAA Tournaments. Despite not having a Kodak All-American since 1988-89, the 49ers ranked seventh all-time in total All-Americans since 1981.
HOW DO YOU SPELL THAT?
Germany native Petra Gläser last name is spelled with an umlat (ä) over the "a" in German and Glaeser in English. The preferred spelling is with the ä, if you can figure out the proper keys (usually alt-u followed by the a) to produce it!
TRANSFERS TO REDSHIRT
Sophomore Val Willhoit (Colorado Springs, CO-Colorado State) and senior Aisha Hollans (Berkeley, CA-USC) will both redshirt this season after transferring. Willhoit is a former All-State guard out of Colorado, while Hollans is a former first team All-Pac 10 guard from USC who averaged 14.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in three seasons at Southern Cal.
49ERS INK TWO FOR 2004-05
Jeanie Saunders (Long Beach) and Junior College transfer Meghan Griffith (Rocklin) both signed letters of intent to attend LBSU starting in 2004-05. Saunders, a 5-7 guard from Wilson High, averaged 12.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.0 steals as a junior earning second team All-Press-Telegram Dream Team status. Griffith, as a 6-3 freshman at Sierra College in Northern California, averaged 13 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per game. |
