Long Beach State University Athletics
Beach Host Two This Week
2/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
49ers Return Home to Host Two * Second Half of the Season Begins with CSUN, Pacific Record: 12-5 Big West: 7-2 | Home: 8-1 | Away: 4-3 | Neutral: 0-1 BRACKETOLOGY: The experts at ESPN.com put out its mid-season predictions for the field of 64 in late January and Long Beach State is the sports network's pick to make it to the NCAA Tournament. According to the report, LBSU is the 14th seed and would play Texas Tech in Dallas. A LOOK AT THE OPPOSITION PACIFIC: The Tigers enter Thursday's contest at UC Irvine 5-12 overall and 2-7 in the Big West... Pacific has lost five straight games in conference play and rank at or near the bottom in scoring (50.2), shooting (35 percent) and rebounding (34.4)... Tina Sanerivi is averaging 20 percent of the team's points at 10.6 points per game. LAST WEEK Idaho 70, LBSU 55: The 49ers seven-game win streak was snapped as the Vandals used a 28-8 run in the second half to move into a second place tie with the 49ers. LBSU, who shot 38 percent for the game, could not stop the Vandals who shot 50 percent in the second half. Idaho had led 42-41 early in the second half, prior to the run. Fernanda Santos had an LBSU-best 12 points, while Aisha Hollans had 14 points and 14 rebounds. Big West Player of the Week Emily Faurholt scored 26 points in the win for Idaho. STAR-STUDDED COACHING STAFF: Forty-Niner Head Coach Mary Hegarty (184-113) is entering her second year as head coach of the program after 10 successful years and four NCAA appearances at Chapman University in Orange County. Hegarty, along with current assistants Denise Curry (also a Naismith Hall of Famer) and Nicole Anderson, are three of the 15 greatest women's basketball players in UCLA history. In fact, the entire staff has a degree from UCLA, but bleeds black and gold and is fully on board with Long Beach's past history, which has included two Final Fours, 16 NCAA Tournaments and seven Kodak All-Americans. REIGN AT THE TOP ENDS AT THREE WEEKS: The 49ers reign at the top of the Big West standings ended last week with the loss at Idaho, a string of three-straight weeks a top the conference standings. LBSU enters the week a game behind the Gauchos in the standings and tied with Idaho for second place. NICE LITTLE STREAK: The 49ers seven-game win streak and 11-4 start the season were both bests since the team routinely made it into the NCAA Tournament in the early 1990's. During the streak from December 30 until January 19, The Beach outscored opponents by nearly 16 points per game, averaging 72 points per game. The 49ers also outrebounded opponents 48 to 33. REBOUNDING MACHINES: The 49ers currently lead the Big West in rebounding, grabbing about 43 rebounds per game as three players ranked in the top-10 in rebounding, by far the most of any team. Senior guard Aisha Hollans (9.2) ranks fourth, while Jayme Connors (7.9) and Petra Gläser (7.1) rank sixth and 10th, respectively. HOLLANS APPEARS ON THE LEADERBOARD: As if the conference need to see senior guard Aisha Hollans (Berkeley) name on the leaderboard to know that she is amongst the 49ers' most talented players. Hollans, who has now appeared in the conference minimum of 75 percent of games played, is currently fifth in scoring (16.8), fourth in rebounding (9.2) and ninth in shooting (44 percent). Hollans has seven double-doubles on the season, firing off 12-straight games of double-digit performances prior to eight points last Saturday. GERMAN FINDING A GROVE: Six-foot-six center Petra Gläser (Amtsberg, Germany) is one of the main reasons The Beach has found its groove this season. The senior has hit for double digits in eight of the last 10 games, grabbing double doubles in three of them. On the season Gläser is averaging 12.4 points per game (12th in the Big West) and 7.1 rebounds (10th), while shooting a conference-best 89 percent from the charity striple. Her 46 percent clip from the field is sixth-best. McCUTCHEON ALL OVER THE CHARTS: Junior wing Crystal McCutcheon (Lancaster) is amongst the Big West top-10 in five categories, leading the Big West in three-point shooting at 46 percent, while ranking third in steals (2.2). McCutcheon has hit for double digits 11 times this season to rank 10th in the Big West in scoring (10.1) and is also shooting 46 percent from the field, eighth best. THE LITTLE THINGS COUNT: Despite not putting up the scoring numbers either is capable of, power forward Jayme Connors (Las Vegas) and point guard Candice Wilson (Sacramento) are each amongst Big West leaders in two key categories. Connors ranks amongst the Big West top-five in rebounding, at 7.9 rebounds per game, grabbing double digits six times, while Wilson is third in assists at 4.8 per game, tallying 13 successful passes earlier this season. HOARDING THE BIG WEST LUMBER: So far this season, LBSU has garnered three Big West Player of the Week awards, Aisha Hollans on January 11 and Crystal McCutcheon on December 6 and December 27. 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. SCORING PUNCH: The 49ers feature four players who have averaged at least 10 points per game in a Division-I season, and two seniors who have averaged double digits over their careers. Petra Gläser (Amtsberg, Germany) averaged a team-best 13.4 points per game last season and has an 11.5 scoring average in two years at UNLV and one at LBSU, while guard Aisha Hollans (Berkeley) averaged 14.3 points per game in three years at USC. Crystal McCutcheon (Lancaster) is coming off a 10.0 points per game clip last season, while Candice Wilson (Sacramento) average. followed by 9.7 points per game last year. INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE: The 49ers boast two national teamers on the roster in Germany's Petra Gläser (Amtsberg) and Brazil's Fernanda Santos (Sao Paulo). Gläser competed for the Germans this past September and helped them qualify for the European Championships next fall, while Santos as been with the Brazilian national program since high school. QUARTET SIGNS WITH 49ERS: Four players signed with the 49ers during the early signing period led by All-CIF guard Karina Figueroa (Corona/Rosary HS), and forward Sheila Ho-Ching (Long Beach/Wilson HS). Amanda Foster (Los Angeles/Marshall HS), and Mary Has (Long Beach/Millikan HS) also signed National Letters of Intent. At 5-8, Figueroa led all of Orange County with 6.3 assists per game last season to earn first team All-CIF honors for the second time in her career. Figueroa added 7.8 points and 4.0 steals per game, to go along with her 52% clip from the field and a 35% percentage from 3-point range. Ho-Ching is the cousin of current 49er guard Jeannie Saunders, and one of two Long Beach players signed. Ho-Ching, a 5-10 forward, earned second team All-CIF accolades in 2002-03 and is a three-time All-Moore League selection. She averaged 10 points and nine rebounds per game last year. Foster, a 6-0 power forward from Marshall High School, is a two-time League MVP, All-City and All-League selection who injured her ACL prior to her senior season. Has, a 5-8 point guard from Millikan High, was named All-Moore League for the second time in her career last season after averaging 13 points, five assists and six rebounds per game. 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! PRE-SEASON COACHES POLL MEDIA PRE-SEASON POLL |
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