49ers Host Two This Week, Starting Thursday vs. UOP
Beach Tries to Climb Ladder at The Walter Pyramid
January 9, 2007
PDF VERSION OF THE RELEASE LONG BEACH STATE (3-13, 0-2)
50.8 ppg, 36.1 rpg
34% FG, 24% 3pt, 65% FT
PACIFIC (7-9, 1-2)
JAN. 11 • PYRAMID • 7 P.M.
61.2 ppg, 40.5 rpg,
34% FG, 29% 3pt, 63% FT
Pacific had just 11 wins over the last two years prior to 2006-07... they have already topped last year's total (6)... UOP has split its last 10 games but enters Thursday's contest having won just one of their last three... Pacific is just 2-6 on the road this season... Karen Dawkins leads the club with 13.9 points and 8.2 rebounds per game for first year Head Coach Lynne Roberts... Jake Kelly chips in 12.5 points per game... LBSU leads the all-time series 32-15 having won the last four in a row.
CS NORTHRIDGE (5-10, 2-1)
JAN. 13 • PYRAMID • 5 P.M.
69.4 ppg, 41.0 rpg,
41% FG, 29% 3pt, 69% FT
The Matadors enter the week having won two of three to start conference play afer losing four-straight and eight of nine heading into a contest on December 30.... forward Ofa Tulikihihifo leads four players in double digits at 15.4 points per game, while guard LaJoyce King is averaging 13.3 points per game... for the second-straight year CSUN returns all five starters.... CSUN leads the league in scoring... LBSU leads the all-time series 26-8, winning seven of the last 10... they split last year's meeting, both winning at home. |
TO GET YOU UP TO SPEED
The 49ers (3-13, 0-2 Big West) will return home for three of their next five beginning with Pacific (7-9, 1-2 Big West) on Thursday at 7 p.m. and CS Northridge (5-10, 2-1 Big West) Saturday at 5 p.m. UC Irvine, the 49ers travel partner, will play the opposite schedule at the Bren Center. LBSU has split their last four games, having being swept on the Central Coast last weekend.
SOMETHING ABOUT MARY
Head Coach Mary Hegarty is in her fourth year at the helm, going 214-140 in 13-plus years of coaching at Chapman (160-92) and Long Beach State (54-48). LBSU is coming off an 18-10 campaign in 2006-07 in which the 49ers were co-champions of the Big West and Hegarty was named the Big West Coach of the Year. Hegarty is one of three of the greatest women's basketball players in UCLA History, joining assistants, Hall of Famer Denise Curry and Nicole Anderson.
MAKING THINGS INTERESTING
Twice last week, the 49ers overcame extremely slow starts and if it wasn't for those tough starts, could be looking at the top, rather than the bottom of the conference. After falling behind 24-8 at UCSB, the 49ers closed to within three with eight minutes left and five with five left, only to fall 71-60. If that didn't make a coaches hair gray, LBSU mounting a 19-0 run to close off a 23-point Cal Poly lead might. LBSU trailed by four with three and a half minutes left, only to lose 61-50.
YOUNG'NS MAKE IMPACT
Over the last two weeks, it has been a question of which freshman will step up and make an impact. Lakin Saucedo (Riverside) has earned a starting assignment after averaging 8.0 points per game in late December and early January after not scoring a point over the first 12 games. Nondi Johnson (Palm Springs) after a career-high eight points off the bench against Fairfield, tallied six points and a career-high 12 rebounds at UCSB in her first career start. Meanwhile, Courtney Jacob (Naples, FL) averaged 11.5 ppg in late December. Ally Wade (Yorba Linda) currently has the hot hand, averaging 10.0 points per game over the last four.
WHAT'S GONE WELL LATELY
The 49ers, who have split their last four, are firing off nearly an eight point per game improvement since December 28 and more importantly have been spreading the offense, as at least three players have hit double digits in all but one game (a win over Fairfield). The team is also hitting its free throws, at a 77 percent clip, compared to a season average of 65 percent. LBSU is shooting 31 percent from three over the last four games.
AS THE INJURY BUG TURNS
The 49ers will be without the services of forward Amanda Foster (knee) for the rest of the season after she injured her knee in late December. Starting guard Lauren Sims, and her 8.0 ppg, will remain grounded for the next two weeks following a stress fracture to her left leg. Sims is expected to be able to go at the end of January.
TWO NUMBERS TO BE RETIRED
Announced prior to Christmas, Final Four teammates Cindy Brown and Penny Toler, two of the greatest players in women's basketball history, will have No. 53 and No. 4 retired during a ceremony prior to the January 27 game against UC Irvine. Brown played from 1983 to 1987 and was instrumental on the 49ers' first Final Four team in 1987, earning All-America honors two times. The Pacific Coast Athletic Association Player of the Year in 1987 finished her career second all-time in career points (2696) and first in total rebounds (1184), blocks (318) and steals (400). Toler played on both Final Four teams in 1987 and 1988, also earning All-America honors during each of those seasons. Toler is one of just three players to score over 2000 points (2193) while averaging 21.7 points per game from 1986 to 1989. Toler also racked up a school-record 513 assists.
STILL TOUGH AT HOME
Long Beach State is 24-9 over its last 33 home games dating back to Nov. 24, 2004. Also in that span, LBSU has knocked off two ranked opponents (Houston, Dec. 20, 2004, 54-52 and USC, Nov. 23, 2005, 51-46). The 49ers went 13-2 in the Walter Pyramid last season.
WHERE THEY RANK...
Karina Figueroa enters the week 14th in scoring (12.1), fourth in free throw shooting (78%) and seventh in assists (3.9)... Tyresha Calhoun ranks third in assists (3.9), fifth in free throw shooting (75%) and seventh in steals (1.9)... Lauren Sims ranks sixth in three-point shooting (35%) and Kaiti O'Brien ranks 14th in rebounding (5.6).
VERY YOUNG FROM THE GET GO
In her fourth season as head coach, Mary Hegarty has her youngest squad in her short tenure at LBSU. However, the 2005-06 conference Coach of the Year is quite optimistic with her 13 newcomers (eight freshmen) and five returnees.
WELCOME THE NEXT WAVE
LaTorya Barbee (Moreno Valley/Canyon Springs HS), Brittany Brumfield (Long Beach/Long Beach Poly HS), and Ashley Bookman (Redondo Beach/Redondo Union HS), have all signed NLI's for the 2007-08 season. Canyon Springs, 10-4 as of January 2, has Barbee averaging 6.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. Poly High is 12-1, with Brumfield averaging 3.1 points per game, but leading the club in steals (3.4) and assists (2.5) per game. Redondo is currently 5-4 on the season as part of the Bay League.
SQUAD BREACKDOWN
Seniors 1 (Willhoit); Juniors 3 (Calhoun, Musina, Pagani); Sophomores 5 (Cameron, Figueroa, O'Brien, Pena, Saucedo); Freshmen 8 (Bagley, Beckner, Jacob, Johnson, Sims, Takata, Timmons, Wade); Redshirt Freshman 1 (Foster)
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