Long Beach State University
Arizona
Arizona Foils Long Beach State Comeback
3/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
December 9, 2007
Long Beach, Calif. - Down by as many as nine points early in the second-half, Long Beach State fought back to tie the visiting Wildcats at 49-49 with 5:56 to play, but Arizona closed out the game with a 17-4 run after that point to set back the 49ers 66-53.
Arizona improved to 4-4 with the win and the 49ers dropped to 1-7 with the loss, but more disheartening was the loss of another starter, as Karina Figueroa joined Valeriya Musina and Courtney Jacob as a medical scratch for the game. The length of all three of those injuries is still being determined.
Kaiti O'Brien was the star for the 49ers, posting the team's first double-double on the year, scoring a team-high 12 points while reeling in 11 rebounds, including four offensive boards. The team also received solid play from two of their junior members. Freshman LaTorya Barbee scored 11 points and made three assists while Melanie Lisnock ended her redshirt season and in her first game scored six points and made two assists in 17 minutes.
Long Beach State started off the game quickly, finding Lauren Sims off a curl at the top the key to take a 3-0 lead, but eight unanswered points turned that lead into the last for a banged up 49ers squad. Helping to ease some of the trouble with the loss of another guard, freshman Melanie Lisnock checked in for the first time all season and her three-point basket helped the 49ers climb all the way back to 8-8 and 10-10 ties.
Arizona quickly responded in the first half, scoring eight straight points over the next three minutes to take a 20-12 lead, and the Wildcats held onto that advantage for the remainder of the half, taking a seven-point lead into the break at 32-25.
In the second half, the Beach cut the lead down to four at 38-34 after an Ally Wade three-pointer, but Rheya Neabors answered with her third three-pointer of the contest to keep the lead at seven at 41-34.
Both teams went cold at that point, leaving the scoreboard unchanged for three minutes until the 12 minute mark, when Sarah Hayes hit a basket on the post. The 49ers hit O'Brien for a strong stretch though, and with six straight points for the junior center Long Beach State was able to tie the game for the first time since 10-10.
Ify Ibekwe was able to answer with a three-point play on the other end after an Arizona timeout, and that keyed the game-ending run for the Wildcats.
Long Beach State continues their seven-game homestand next Saturday when the 49ers host Nebraska at 5 p.m. in the Walter Pyramid.
