Long Beach State University Athletics
Beach Falls to First Place UCR
2/15/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
49ers Fall To First Place UCR
LONG BEACH, CA-- Kemie Nkele recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds and Brittany Waddell tallied 16 points to lead first place UC Riverside to a 52-45 win over Long Beach State on Thursday evening at the Walter Pyramid in a Big West Conference women 's basketball game. With the win the Highlanders improved to 16-9 overall and 10-1 in the Big West. The 49ers, who lost their fifth game in a row, fell to 5-21 and 2-10 in league action. Karina Figueroa led the way for Long Beach with 21 points and 12 rebounds. UCR shot just .279 (17-61) from the field for the contest, but won the battle of the boards 52-to-44 and blocked 12 shots. Nkele blocked four shots and Waddell and Katerina Glyniadaki had three each. Seyram Gbewonyo added eight points and eight rebounds for UCR as well. The 49ers were able to force 22 turnovers, but shot just .258 (16-62) from the field and were 1-7 from three-point range. Tyresha Calhoun added six points and four steals and Courtney Jacob and Madison Pagani each had five points. Riverside opened the half with a 7-0 run in the first five minutes to pull out to a 37-20 advantage. The 49ers kept battling and eventually cut the deficit to 46-38 after two free throws by Figueroa at 4:37. After the Highlanders answered with four quick points, Jacob knocked down a three to cut the margin to 50-41. Long Beach stayed in the contest thanks to Figueroa. After back-to-back baskets by the talented sophomore, the 49ers trailed by just five points, 50-45, with 42.8 second remaining. On the next possession, Nkele hit one of two charity tosses to expand the lead to 51-45. The next trip down the court the 49ers turned the ball over and then quickly fouled Gbewonyo. She sank one free throw, missed the second, but the 49ers couldn't control the rebound and UCR retained possession. The 49ers hung tough with the first place Highlanders in the opening half, trailing just 30-20. The 49ers hurt themselves by hitting just eight-of-31 shots (.258). Figueroa had eight points and four rebounds to lead the 49er offense. Long Beach hurt itself by turning the ball over 10 times. UCR, which got nine points from Nkele, shot just .379 (11-29) in the half and committed 13 turnovers. The Highlanders were five-of-nine from three-point range, with Wadell knocking down two treys. The 49ers will next be in action on Saturday, February 17 when they host Cal State Fullerton at 4 pm in the Walter Pyramid. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
