Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
9-1
LSU
4-5
Beach Women's Basketball Topples LSU, 59-44
12/16/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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LONG BEACH - The Long Beach State women's basketball team never trailed in a convincing 59-44 win over SEC member LSU Tuesday evening at the Walter Pyramid.
The Beach extended its win streak to seven-straight games and improved to 9-1 on the season.
"We moved the ball really well, against both their zone and their man (defense)," head coach Jody Wynn said. "I just think we played very unselfish basketball and we were able to capitalize with good ball movement and good player movement. Overall, I can't tell you enough how proud we are of each and every one of the girls."
The 49ers shot 42.9 percent from the field and were an impressive 7-of-13 (53.8 percent) from beyond the arc. They also held the Lady Tigers to under 30 percent shooting, including an 0-for-12 effort from 3-point range.
Senior Lauren Spargo paced LBSU with a game-high 14 points, while sophomore Raven Benton added 12 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore Madison Montgomery also had 10 points and eight boards, and classmate Anna Kim chipped in 11 points. Both Kim and Spargo were 4-for-7 with three 3-pointers each. Senior Hallie Meneses directed the offense with nine assists.
Long Beach State came out firing on all cylinders, racing out to a 15-0 lead over the first four minutes. Kim led the charge with eight of her 11 points during that stretch.
LSU (4-5) eventually got on the board at the 15:59 mark, but the Beach proceeded to increase its cushion to 20 following Kim's third trey of the game with 12:18 still to play. The 49ers stayed out front by double digits the rest of the way, but the Lady Tigers made a late push, scoring the final six points of the half to cut their deficit to 30-18 at the break.
LBSU continued to cruise in the second period until LSU used a 15-4 spurt to make it 43-39 with 6:49 remaining. After Long Beach State called a 30-second timeout, Spargo hit a 3-pointer from the right corner, sparking a 16-3 run over the next four-plus minutes to give the home team a comfortable 59-42 advantage with 2:09 left to play.
Sheila Boykin, a product of Long Beach Poly High School, made a pair of free throws with under one minute to go for the final 59-44 margin.
Boykin paced LSU with 10 points and 12 rebounds. The Lady Tigers, who were held under 50 points for the first time this season, shot just 25.7 percent (18-70) from the field and 44.4 percent (8-18) from the free throw line.
Long Beach State is back in action this weekend when it hosts the annual Beach Classic, Dec. 19-20. The 49ers are set to face Florida Atlantic on Friday and former Big West foe Pacific on Saturday with both games starting at 5 p.m.
NOTES: Long Beach State's seven-game winning streak matches the longest by a 49er squad since 2005-06 ... The Beach continued its best start since the 1986-87 team won 20-straight games after dropping their season opener ... This was the second time this year LBSU has led wire-to-wire ... The 49ers haven't trailed in the second period in seven of their 10 games ... Long Beach State's last two opponents (Cal and LSU) have gone 0-for-22 from beyond the arc ... Overall, LBSU has held its opponents to a .235 3-point field goal percentage.
