Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers Nearly Comeback Twice on Pitt
12/3/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
49ers Nearly Topple Panthers
STONY BROOK, NY-- Twice Long Beach State (2-1) nearly toppled double digit leads only to fall 64-62 to Pittsburgh (5-0) on the first day of the Holiday Inn Classic, hosted by Stony Brook University. The Beach came within just one point with 9.1 seconds left fighting back from a 15-point deficit in the second half, after coming within four points following a 13-point Panther lead in the first half. The Panthers converted 6-of-10 free throws down the stretch to hold off the 49ers who used a 20-8 run to get back in the contest with three minutes left. "Obviously I'm disappointed that we lost," said second-year Head Coach Mary Hegarty, whose team made 19 turnovers. "We didn't stick to our system for 40 minutes. We had some defensive lapses and were not able to bounce back. It was an up hill battle mostly because of our mistakes." The Beach shot just 35 percent for the contest, shooting 42 percent in the second half, while Pitt hit just 33 percent of its shots, including 37 percent in the second half. Crystal McCutcheon (Lancaster) led the 49ers with 19 points, while Jayme Connors (Las Vegas, NV) added 17 points and 10 rebounds. Candice Wilson (Sacramento) fouled out with 10 points. "Crystal's play resembles her play during practice," said Hegarty of McCutcheon, who is averaging 17.7 points per game. "She is our most consistent player out there, and hardest worker, so her early season success makes sense. She could be even more aggressive out there, especially on the offensive end." Cheron Taylor scored 18 ponts and added 10 rebounds for Pitt, while Katie Histed had 17 points. Amy Kunich added 12 points and four steals. LBSU closed to within 56-53 with 3:02 left and had a chance win it in the closing seconds. With 9.1 seconds left, LBSU had an opportunity to go-head as Petra Gläser's (Amtsberg, Germany) layup closed the gap to 61-60, but two free throws by Katie Histed gave the Panthers that final three-point cushion to hold off the 49ers. Wilson hit two free throws with two seconds left, but another free throw, this time by Kunich ended the contest. Connors twice had a chance to bring The Beach ever closer, but she missed two free throws with under a minute left. The first miss came after a make with 56 seconds left to keep it at 60-56, while a missed free throw following a layup, kept it at 61-58 with 24 ticks left. Pittsburgh built a 47-32 lead in the second half, thanks to a 18-7 run after the first nine minutes of the second half. Much like the first half, when LBSU managed just six points over the first 12 minutes of play, LBSU scored just seven points over the first nine minutes of the second half. Thanks to a 15-8 run over the final eight minutes of the first half, the 49ers fought back from a 13-point deficit to trail just 29-25 at the half. After LBSU missed 13 of their first 15 shots, the 49ers settled for a 25 percent clip from the field. Pitt was not much better shooting 29 percent. The Beach also cut down on their turnovers, making just one miscue over the final eight minutes, after making 11 over the first 12 minutes of the first half. McCutcheon led the 49ers with 13 first half points. With 7:46 left, LBSU trailed 19-6, before McCutcheon went to work, scoring a breakaway layup at 3:08 to close the gap to 24-15, before knocking down four free throws over the final two minutes to cut the deficit to 27-23 with 1:50 left. The 49ers will play the host Seawolves on Sunday at 8:30 PST, before heading to the San Francisco Bay Area next week. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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