Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers Host Final Two This Week
2/23/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
49ers Host Final Two This Week Record: 17-6 Big West: 11-3 | Home: 9-2 | Away: 8-3 | Neutral: 0-1 COULDN'T TOSS A BEAN BAG? BUY A TICKET: For those of you you could not toss a bean bag into the center circle at a Pyramid home event this season, to win free tickets, you can go the old fashion way by purchasing tickets for the 2005 Big West Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament through the Pyramid Box Office at (562) 985-7565. The first round featuring the fifth through eighth seeds will be on Wednesday March 9, the winners of those games will move on to play the third and fourth seeds on Thursday. On Friday the top two seeds will play the remaining winners with a chance to play for the championship on Saturday at 1 p.m. A LOOK AT THE OPPOSITION IDAHO: The Vandals sit in third place, two games behind the Gauchos in the standings at 16-8 and 11-3 in the Big West... Idaho after winning six straight from January 22 to February 10 have now lost two of three, including losses to CS Northridge and CS Fullerton.... Idaho rebounded with a 70-59 win against UC Riverside in their last outing... last year's national scoring leader, forward Emily Faurholt is averaging 22.0 points per game and 6.2 rebounds per game, while fellow wing Leilani Mitchell is averaging 16.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game... forward Heather Thoelke has 11.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game to round out the scoring... the Vandals rank fourth in the Big West in scoring (65.5) and three-point shooting (32 percent) and second in free throw shooting (75 percent), but last in rebounding (34.2)... LBSU leads the all-time series 11-3 after losing 70-55 in Moscow last month... Faurholt scored 26 points in the contest as LBSU was held to just 38% shooting in the second half as Idaho pulled away with a late run. LAST WEEK LBSU 66, UC Irvine 47: Long Beach State women's basketball (16-6, 11-3 Big West) cruised yet again, winning their fourth in a row with a 66-47 win over host UC Irvine (4-18, 3-11 Big West). Candice Wilson (Sacramento) fell two points shy of her career-high with a a season-best 20 points, while Crystal McCutcheon (Lancaster) added 18 points. It was the ninth time over the last 14 games opponents were held to 50 points or under, as The Beach have now won 12 of its last 14. Tonight's defensive pressure held UCI to a 32 percent clip from the floor, as LBSU shot 46 percent. Angie Ned led the Anteaters with 12 points, as LBSU outrebounded UCI 46-to-26. The 49ers led 34-19 at the half paced by a 54 percent clip from the floor. UCI was held to just 29 percent shooting. Wilson set her season-high in the first half with 14 points. STAR-STUDDED COACHING STAFF: Forty-Niner Head Coach Mary Hegarty (191-117) is in 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. DEFENSIVE JUGGERNAUGHTS: One of the big reasons Long Beach State has done so well this season is their defense and that defensive intensity. Over the last 15 games, LBSU has held opponents to 50 points or less, eight times, including four of the last five. LBSU is just allowing 58.7 points per game on the season with opponents shooting just 37 percent. TOPPING THE CHARTS: A look at the Big West leaderboards there's a reason why The Beach have not only won 13 of their last 15, but why they are in the hunt for the Big West Conference title. LBSU is either first or second in 13 statistical categories, leading the way in defense (58.7), scoring margin (+10.6), shooting (44 percent), three-point shooting (35 percent), field goal and three-point defense, assists (16.3) and defensive rebounds. Amongst others, LBSU is second in both steals, rebounds. McCUTCHEON FIRES AWAY: Junior guard Crystal McCutcheon (Lancaster) has been lights out from beyond the arc this season hitting a Big West-high 51 percent from three-point range, far and away the best mark in the conference. Thanks to 18.5 points per game last week, McCutcheon has raced up the scoring charts to eighth in the conference (13.7). McCutcheon, a two-time Big West Player of the Week, is also second in the Big West in steals with 2.2 per game. SCORE OR DISH, WILSON DOES THEM BOTH: Senior guard Candice Wilson (Sacramento), with so many different scorers on this year's team has been the team's primary passer on the season, averaging 4.5 assists per game (third in the Big West). Last Thursday at UC Irvine she showed she will had the scorer's touch, tallying a season-high 20 points (missing her career-high by two). On Monday, Wilson dished off nine assists, her second highest total of the season, falling five short of her career-high of 13 set on January 8 at CS Northridge. WORK PAYS OFF IN THE MIDDLE: Six-foot-six Petra Gläser (Amtsberg, Germany) has begun to get hot at the right time, tallying double digits in six of the last nine contests, which has included three of her five double doubles. Gläser is coming off a double-double Monday night at UC Davis in which she had 18 points and 11 rebounds. Gläser's scoring averaging of 12.0 points per game ranks 13th in the Big West and eighth in rebounding (7.3), while her shooting is seventh (46 percent) and free throw shooting is first (88 percent). WORKING THE BOOKS: Senior center Petra Gläser (Amtsberg, Germany) a member of the German National Team is not only getting it done on the boards but in the classroom as the international business major was named an Academic All-District selection by CoSIDA. Gläser, a transfer from UNLV, is likely to become a two-time academic All-Big West selection as well. HOLLANS ONE OF THE BEST IN THE BIG WEST: Senior guard Aisha Hollans' (Berkeley) name is all over the Big West conference leader board, ranking sixth in the Big West in scoring (15.7), fourth in rebounding (8.7) and sixth in shooting (46 percent). Hollans nine double doubles on the season is fourth in the Big West. 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. REIGN AT THE TOP ENDS AT THREE WEEKS: The 49ers reign at the top of the Big West standings ended two weeks ago with the loss at Idaho, a string of three-straight weeks a top the conference standings. The Beach had a chance to break back into first February 3, but fell by three to CS Northridge. 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. HOME AND AWAY: The 49ers have remarkable different views depending on where the court happens to lie-- at The Pyramid they are 9-2, and away from Long Beach they are just 6-4. HOARDING THE BIG WEST LUMBER: So far this season, LBSU has garnered four Big West Player of the Week awards, Aisha Hollans on January 11 and February 14 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. 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! SCHWARZENEGGER'S BIG WEST: Coming in 2005-06 the Big West Conference will become an all California conference with the exit of Idaho and Utah State and the addition of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's neighbor, UC Davis. Davis, near Sacramento, and we don't mean Gray, will become a full member in 2007-08. PRE-SEASON COACHES POLL MEDIA PRE-SEASON POLL |
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