Long Beach State University
UC Davis
Comeback Falls Short As 49ers Lose At UC Davis
3/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
January 12, 2008
Davis, Calif. - Down 49-42 with 2:31 to play, Long Beach State recovered for a final chance with the ball down 51-49 at the end of regulation, but was unable to convert in a loss on the road at Davis. Ally Wade, who hit a three-pointer to cut that final lead to two, led the 49ers with 15 points.
Long Beach State prospered with solid defense throughout the night, holding UC Davis' leading scorer Jessica Campbell to four points on 2-11 shooting, and kept the Aggies at 30.2% shooting overall, but struggled with foul trouble to key players along with turnovers, committing a season-high 30 turnovers.
Part of the turnover problem can be directly traced to the loss of the team's veteran leaders, Kaiti O'Brien and Tyresha Calhoun. Both players picked up two fouls early in the first half, limiting their time then, and their loss contributed to the team's problems late.
Down four early, Long Beach State recovered to take a 17-10 lead, but a offensive foul on Calhoun took required the 49ers to go the final ten minutes without their two leading scorers as well as their primary ball-handler. The difference showed on the court, as the 49ers were unable to score again over ten minutes, allowing the Aggies back into the game for an 18-17 lead on the way to a 24-20 halftime score.
Two quick threes from Calhoun and Wade made the score 26-24 early in the second half, as Long Beach State hit quickly to take another lead with their starters back in the game. With that done, both teams played close basketball, as neither team was able to gain a lead of more than three and momentum shifted between sides.
The composure that the team had gained however, again failed when their early foul troubles resurfaced. O'Brien picked up her fifth and final personal at 4:27 after failing to take a charge with the team down one at 43-42, and Calhoun also fouled out with 2:31 to play.
Down seven at 49-42, Long Beach State took advantage of an overly aggressive UC Davis zone to make two easy underneath layups, and cut the lead to two at 51-49 following an Ally Wade three with 33 seconds to go. The Beach got the stop they needed, but without O'Brien or Calhoun on the floor, were unable to get a good shot off in the final ten seconds and dropped to 3-12 on the year.
Long Beach State has a light next couple weeks in an anomaly of the conference schedule. The 49ers will host UC Riverside next Saturday at 5 p.m., and will then play Cal State Northridge the following week on January 26. Those are the only games for the 49ers until a road game against Cal State Fullerton at the end of the month.
