Long Beach State University
Cal Poly
49ers Run Past Mustangs On The Road
3/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 6, 2008
San Luis Obispo, Calif. - SAN LUIS OBISPO - Scoring a season-high 48 second-half points, Long Beach State outlasted Cal Poly in a 78-62 win on the road in San Luis Obispo. The victory is the fourth in a row for the 49ers.
Karina Figueroa led the way for Long Beach State with 15 points, but balanced scoring was the key for the 49ers, surviving a big night down low for Cal Poly's Kristina Santiago. The 49ers had three other players finish in double-figures, as Valeriyia Musina scored 10 first half points to keep things close, Lauren Sims had 12 big second-half points to move the 49ers ahead, and Tyresha Calhoun nailed down the game by hitting 9-10 free throws all in the last 2 minutes.
With a fast tempo early, the teams came out shooting hot and put up a 7-7 score over the first two minutes. Long Beach State had a couple of threes from Valeriya Musina, and were shooting 50% from the field, but even better shooting from Cal Poly kept the Mustangs in the lead, shooting 8-12 over the first eight minutes to hold on to an 18-16 edge.
The torrid pace for both teams was not going to continue forever, and the 49ers were the first team to feel the crunch. Cal Poly began to find their outside touch just as the 49ers got cold, hitting their first four three pointers to take a 31-18 lead as part of a 13-2 run.
However, the Mustangs also finally hit a wall on their shooting, and the 49ers slowly worked their way back into the game. Long Beach State picked up an easy basket off of a pick-and-roll from Kaiti O'Brien. The 49ers also improved their outside defense, as the Mustangs went 0-3 from three to close out the half.
Closing out a 13-5 run over the final six minutes, Long Beach State got a tough 18-footer from Figueroa in the closing seconds of the half to cut the Cal Poly lead to six at the break, 36-30.
Long Beach State kept the momentum that they'd gained in the closing minutes of the first half as they moved to the second. Starting the half with an 11-3 run, a three-pointer from Courtney Jacob cut the lead to one at 36-35, and Long Beach State took their first lead since the opening minute at 37-36 on a Brett Timmons jumper.
After taking a 44-40 lead, both teams finally slowed down both the pace and the scoring, but the 49ers continued to hold a four-point cushion at 50-46.
Making their move at that point, Long Beach State took a six point lead at 53-47 after a Figueroa three, and two more 49er threes from Lauren Sims brought the Beach out to a ten-point lead. The 49ers shot 7-18 from three on the night, including 50% from Sims.
Ahead 67-59 with two minutes to play, Long Beach State would allow Santiago to get a number of easy baskets underneath to help her reach a game-high 23 points with eight offensive rebounds, but Calhoun was up to the moment, showing good senior leadership by hitting 9-10 free throws with three trips coming on 1-and-1 attempts.
Long Beach State finishes the 2008 regular season on Saturday on the road at UC Santa Barbara. Tipoff for that game is at 2 p.m.
