Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
8-1
California
7-2
Long Beach State Upsets No. 18/17 Cal With 58-56 Overtime Victory
12/13/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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LONG BEACH - With an extraordinary team effort on the defensive end, and the game-winning put back by junior Devin Hudson with three seconds left in overtime, the Long Beach State women's basketball team upended No. 18/17 Cal, 58-56, in front of 1,086 fans Saturday evening at the Walter Pyramid.
"This is a huge win for our program," head coach Jody Wynn said. "Cal is a phenomenal team so to know that we can compete against anybody when we play together is really satisfying. I'm very proud of our team effort and just happy for our girls."
The Beach moves to 8-1 on the season, marking its best start since the 1986-87 campaign when the 49ers went 33-3 and advanced to the NCAA Final Four. This is also LBSU's first victory against a ranked team since defeating No. 21 USC in 2005-06.
It was a wild finish as Cal's Brittany Boyd hit a jumper to knot it up at 56-56 with 44 seconds left in overtime. After two missed shots and two offensive rebounds by Long Beach State, senior Hallie Meneses was fouled with the home team in the double bonus. She missed both free throws, but the ball went out of bounds off the Golden Bears and the Beach maintained possession with 19 seconds to go.
With time winding down, sophomore Raven Benton was unable to connect on a jumper, but junior Devin Hudson was in position for the offensive board and the put back to give LBSU the 58-56 edge with 2.8 ticks on the clock.
After calling a timeout, Cal heaved a hail mary pass into the front court and the ball deflected off a 49er, giving the visitors one more chance from the sideline with 1.4 seconds remaining. The Bears got the ball in to Boyd and her 3-point attempt banked in, but the basket was called off as she did not get it off before the buzzer.
Hudson led Long Beach State with 14 points and 12 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. Senior Lauren Spargo tied for the team lead with 14 points, while adding four steals. Benton also had a strong all-around game with eight points, six rebounds and four steals.
The Beach shot just 28.8 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from the free throw line, but it won the game on the defensive end, forcing Cal into a season-high 31 turnovers. LBSU compiled a season-best 16 steals, and won the battle in both points off turnovers (22-to-16) and second-chance points (17-to-8). The 49ers finished with 20 offensive boards to the Golden Bears' 13.
Cal (7-2) scored the first six points of the game, but Spargo put Long Beach State on the board with a 3-pointer and the Beach proceeded to go on a remarkable 21-0 run. Junior Chantel Dooley capped the scoring with a three-point play before Boyd ended an eight-minute drought for the Bears.
Cal was able to cut its deficit to 26-20 following a 14-5 spurt, but a Benton layup and a free throw from Meneses put LBSU on top, 29-21, at the break.
It was a tightly played second half as the Golden Bears came back to knot it up and then took their first advantage (35-33) since the 15:37 mark of the first period. Meneses responded with a 3-pointer and the 49ers eventually pulled ahead, 43-39, on a Hudson layup with 9:59 remaining. Long Beach State stayed out front and was up by four with 4:07 to go, but Cal chipped away, evening the score at 50-50 with 21 seconds left. The Beach was unable to get a shot off on its final possession of regulation.
The Bears finished the game shooting 40.3 percent from the field, but were 0-for-10 from beyond the arc. They also got to the foul line just nine times. Boyd led Cal with 21 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists, while Gabby Green added a double-double with 10 points and 12 boards. The duo also had nine turnovers each.
Long Beach State continues its homestand on Tuesday, Dec. 16, when it welcomes SEC member LSU to the Walter Pyramid for a 7 p.m. showdown.
NOTES: Long Beach State extended its win streak to six games, the longest by a 49er squad since posting seven-straight victories in 2005-06 ... LBSU picked up its third win over a Pac-12 team in the last three years ... The Beach snapped a five-game losing streak in its all-time series with Cal ... This was the 49ers' second OT game of the season, and their first OT win since defeating UC Irvine in extra time on Jan. 9, 2014 ... Despite being held to 39 points in their last game at Kansas, the Golden Bears had entered the week ranked 14th in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 83.9 points per outing ... They had already reached the 100-point mark twice this year ... Cal's leading scorer Reshanda Gray was ejected from the game following a technical foul in the final minutes of the first half.
