Long Beach State University
UC Riverside
Women Drop Road Game At UC Riverside
2/21/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 13, 2008
RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Taking on last season's Big West champions on the road, the 49ers struggled to find on offensive rhythm and fell to UC Riverside 67-39. The 49ers finished with 14 offensive rebounds, but were unable to convert them into points, shooting under 30 percent on the game.
Long Beach State started the game evenly with UC Riverside, doing a good job defensively on Seyram Gbewonyo, holding the Higlanders' leading scorer to just one point on the game, holding close early through the first five minutes at 10-9. The Highlanders made a quick push, but the 49ers found Valeriya Musina for a three-pointer to cut the lead back to one once more at 15-14 with 11:42 to play.
UC Riverside clamped down on the 49ers at that point, however, scoring 12 unanswered points over the next eight minutes, which eventually translated to a ten-point halftime lead at 30-20.
In the second half, the Highlanders continued to find Brittney Waddell, who also helped earn her own game-high 18 points with four steals, three of which went for fast break baskets. On the other end, the 49ers went cold. Normally a 34% shooting team, the 49ers were 8-33 in the second half on the way to a 15-56 overall mark, ending under 30% for the first time all year at 26.8 percent.
The Highlanders increased their lead to 20 within the first four minutes of the second half, and coasted on that lead to the finish line, as the 49ers were unable to get any consistent scoring. Overall, the team was led by Courtney Jacob who finished with eight points while Karina Figueroa's six-game double-figure scoring streak was ended after finishing with seven points.
The 49ers finish their non-conference schedule at home on Saturday, taking on Cal State Bakersfield in the Walter Pyramid. Tipoff for that game is at 5 p.m.
