Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
1-0
San Diego State
0-1
Beach Dominates in 74-54 Season-Opening Win over SDSU
11/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Box Score (PDF) 
| Box Score (html) | Photo Gallery 
LONG BEACH - The Long Beach State women's basketball team got off to a hot start and led wire-to-wire in a dominating 74-54 season-opening win over San Diego State Friday evening at the Walter Pyramid.
The Beach made 50 percent of its field goal attempts (28-56), while holding SDSU to 42.3 percent (22-52). LBSU also had 10 steals and forced the Aztecs into 21 turnovers.
"We came into the game thinking we have to make the extra pass and we have to make our teammates better," head coach Jody Wynn said. "We wanted to play together offensively and we did a really good job of that. We moved the ball well, and had 10 assists by halftime, so I'm really proud of the way the girls came out of the locker room."
Junior Jewelyn Sawyer led four 49ers in double figures as she was 9-of-15 from the floor for a career-high 20 points. Sawyer also totaled eight rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Junior Madison Montgomery was extremely efficient from the field, going 6-for-9 to finish with 13 points. Classmate Raven Benton added 13 points to go along with a team-best six assists and three steals.
Freshman Chanterria Jackson didn't disappoint in her collegiate debut, scoring 10 points on a 4-for-4 shooting performance, which included two 3-pointers. Junior Anna Kim and sophomore Cecily Wilson chipped in nine points each.
Long Beach State (1-0) couldn't miss in the opening minutes, making its first six shots of the game. The Beach kept the momentum on its side, building a 20-4 lead with 3:03 to go in the first quarter. San Diego State then responded with back-to-back threes which closed the gap to 10, but that was the closest the visitors would get as LBSU held a 23-11 advantage at the end of the period. The 49ers ended up shooting 60 percent (9-of-15) in the first 10 minutes.
The Black & Gold started the second quarter on a 9-4 run, which ended with five-straight points from Jackson, to pull ahead, 32-15, with just under six minutes left in the half. Long Beach State stayed out front by double figures and took a 37-22 lead into the locker room.
Montgomery paced the Beach in the first half with 11 points (5-of-6), while Sawyer added eight points and six rebounds.
Sawyer picked up the pace after the break where she scored 12 of her game-high 20 points. After SDSU (0-1) came within 13 early in the third frame, Sawyer answered with five consecutive points, and Wilson's layup capped a 7-0 run that gave LBSU a comfortable 45-25 lead at the 5:54 mark. The two teams traded buckets over the next two minutes before the 49ers used a 9-0 spurt to pull ahead, 56-29. The Aztecs would get five points back in the final 30 seconds to make it 56-34.
Long Beach State was never threatened in the fourth and final quarter where it led by at least 20 for all but 1 minute and 36 seconds, as the home team cruised to the 74-54 win.
Kymberly Ellison was the lone Aztec in double figures with 11 points.
The Beach is back in the Walter Pyramid on Sunday, Nov. 15, when it entertains Portland State at 2 p.m. (PST).
NOTES: Long Beach State remained unbeaten in season-opening games at the Walter Pyramid in the Jody Wynn era (5-0) ... The Beach also improved to 32-21 in all-time season openers ... Jewelyn Sawyer's 20 points were the most by a 49er in a season opener since Karina Figueroa (23) and Lauren Sims (20) reached the 20-point mark against Prairie View A&M on Nov. 13, 2009 ... LBSU picked up its second-straight win over the Aztecs and now leads the all-time series 52-6 (dating back to 1963-64) ... It was Long Beach State's largest margin of victory against SDSU since a 94-63 win in 1990.
