Long Beach State University Athletics
Drought Leads to Loss
1/20/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Draught Leads to UCR Win 58-43
RIVERSIDE, CA-- First place UC Riverside (12-7, 6-1 Big West) used an 13-0 second half run, and held the visiting 49ers scoreless for nearly eight and a half minutes to easily defeat Long Beach State (4-16, 1-5 Big West) 58-43 before a school-record crowd of 878 on Saturday evening. LBSU which had tied the game at the 13:26, saw Roney Friend and company score 13 unanswered, as her bucket at 7:44 gave UCR a 48-35 lead. Friend, one of four players in double figures for the Highlanders, scored 11, as Kemi Nkele led with 15 points and added 10 rebounds. UCR shot 43 percent. Karina Figueroa scored a team-high 12 points, while Brett Timmons had eight points and five rebounds. The 49ers shot just 29 percent. In a game of runs, UCR's 7-0 start to the second half was quickly erased following a 9-2 LBSU run which saw Kaiti O'Brien's layup at 13:26 tie it at 35-35. LBSU would not score again until 4:55. The 49ers, who trailed by as many as 10 in the first half, fought back to close to within 27-24 at the half. UCR shot 50 percent in the first half, benefiting from six blocks, as LBSU was held to just 28 percent shooting. The 49ers even led with three and a half minutes left as two free throws by Figueroa capped a 13-2 run and gave the 49ers a brief 20-19 lead. LBSU used a 11-2 run to get back in the contest as a Figueroa layup at 3:57 brought LBSU to within 19-18. Long Beach State missed 16 of their first 19 shots (3-19) as UCR's interior defense provided five blocks and the Highlanders built a 17-7 lead thanks to an 8-0 run. The 49ers have one game next week, when they host UC Irvine as part of the Black and Blue Rivalry Series on Saturday, January 27 at 5 p.m. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
