Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
8-21 6-9BWC
Cal Poly
16-10, 12-3BWC
49ers fall at Big West leading Cal Poly, 61-48
2/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 26, 2011
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - The Long Beach State women's basketball team trailed by one at the break but struggled on the offensive end in the second half as it fell to Big West leading Cal Poly, 61-48, Saturday evening at Mott Gym.
The 49ers (8-21, 6-9 Big West) owned a 45-37 advantage on the boards, but shot just 25.4 percent from the field, while the Mustangs posted a 45.0 field goal percentage. LBSU was held to 16 points on 4-for-25 shooting in the second half.
Senior Courtney Jacob paced The Beach with nine points and a team-high 11 rebounds. Freshman Sendy Valles also grabbed 10 boards, while classmate Ella Clark finished with eight points and seven rebounds. Junior Tipesa Moorer added eight points and senior Ashley Bookman pulled down seven boards.
Long Beach State jumped out to a 7-2 lead following a 3-pointer by Melanie Lisnock at the 18:09 mark. Cal Poly then proceeded to score 17 unanswered points to open up a 19-7 advantage with 9:12 to play. Alyssa Starkey eventually ended a nearly 10-minute scoring drought for the 49ers with a layup, which sparked a 10-4 run that cut the deficit to six at 23-17.
After the Mustangs pulled back ahead by 11, LBSU went on to outscore the home team, 14-4, down the stretch. During the run, Henton hit a pair of 3-pointers and Jacob had a put back at the buzzer to close the gap to 33-32 at the break.
The 49ers shot 31.6 percent from the field in the first half and were led by Jacob and Brandi Henton, who had seven points apiece.
Cal Poly (16-10, 12-3 Big West) started the second period with an 8-0 spurt before Clark scored LBSU's first points of the half with a pair of free throws at the 12:55 mark.
The 49ers continued to struggle from the floor as they were still without a field goal with 7:12 to play, allowing Cal Poly to take a 49-36 lead after back-to-back 3-pointers. Clark then responded with a three of her own to make it 46-39, but the Mustangs answered with a 9-0 run to go up by double figures (58-39).
Despite scoring seven points over the final two minutes, LBSU was unable to dig itself out of the hole, ultimately falling, 61-48.
Rachel Clancy led the Mustangs with a game-high 24 points. Abby Bloetscher also tallied 16 points, while Kayla Griffin finished with 13 rebounds.
Long Beach State closes out the regular season next Wednesday (March 2) when it heads to UC Riverside for a 4:30 p.m. Big West showdown with the Highlanders.
