Long Beach State University Athletics
LBSU Entertains UTEP, UNLV in Beach Classic This Weekend
12/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
BEACH CLASSIC
UTEP (8-0) at
Long Beach State (7-3)
Date: Friday, Dec. 18
Time: 7 p.m. (PST)
Location: Walter Pyramid (4,200) - Long Beach, Calif.
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UNLV (7-2) vs.
UTEP (8-0)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 19
Time: 5 p.m. (PST)
Location: Walter Pyramid (4,200) - Long Beach, Calif.
UNLV (7-2) at
Long Beach State (7-3)
Date: Sunday, Dec. 20
Time: 2 p.m. (PST)
Location: Walter Pyramid (4,200) - Long Beach, Calif.
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Game Notes: Long Beach State 
The Long Beach State women's basketball team will look to snap a two-game skid when it hosts the Beach Classic this weekend. LBSU is set to face UTEP in the tournament opener at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 18, before returning to the court on Sunday, Dec. 20, for a 2 p.m. showdown with UNLV. UTEP and UNLV will also square off at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 19. All three games will be held in the Walter Pyramid.
QUICK HITS
• The Beach will be facing its second undefeated opponent in as many games as UTEP is 8-0.
• Long Beach State enters the week with the best overall record in the Big West at 7-3.
• LBSU also ranks first in the Big West and 28th in the country in turnover margin (5.2).
• With their loss at USC, the 49ers dropped back-to-back games for only the third time in the last two years.
• They also suffered their first 20-point setback since the 2013-14 season.
• Long Beach State has held seven of its 10 opponents to 60 points or fewer, and three to under 50.
• That puts them at No. 58 in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 56.9 points per game.
• The Beach has had six different leading scorers on the year.
• LBSU made a program single-game record 13 threes in an 89-71 win over Portland State.
• Head coach Jody Wynn is three victories away from her 100th career win.
BEACH CLASSIC HISTORY
Since seventh-year head coach Jody Wynn brought back the Beach Classic in 2010-11, LBSU has posted a 7-3 record with its only losses coming to NC State, Wichita State and Florida State, which was ranked 23rd at the time. Last season, the Beach defeated Florida Atlantic and Pacific to claim its second tournament title. This marks the 21st year the 49ers will be hosting a December tournament as they also held the Beach Classic from 1998-2002 and the LBSU Dial Soap Classic from 1982-1991. They have compiled an all-time record of 33-7 in their own tournament.
SCOUTING THE MINERS
UTEP is one of 14 teams in the nation who remain undefeated as it improved to 8-0 with an 86-32 win over Division II member UTPB on Monday. Junior guard Jenzel Nash leads the Miners with 14.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, while senior guards Cameasha Turner and Starr Breedlove are both averaging 12.1 points per outing. Friday will mark UTEP's second road game of the season. They defeated New Mexico State, 71-65, in their only contest outside of El Paso. The Miners were receiving votes in this week's AP Top-25 Poll.
SERIES RECORD
This will be the first meeting between Long Beach State and UTEP.
A GLANCE AT UNLV
UNLV (7-2) is coming off a 2-0 week in Texas as it defeated Houston, 63-60, and Texas A&M-CC, 65-51. Sophomore guard Brooke Johnson has paced the Lady Rebels with 12.9 points per outing. Senior center Aley Rohde has also registered 9.9 points and a team-best 9.2 rebounds per game.
SERIES RECORD
Long Beach State leads in its all-time series with former Big West foe UNLV, 23-15, but the Lady Rebels have won the last three. The two teams will renew their rivalry after not facing each other since 2007. UNLV was a member of the Big West from 1983-1996 and LBSU saw them in the conference tournament final five times in the 1980s.
PROTECT THE PYRAMID
Long Beach State has been tough to beat at home in recent years with a 48-20 (.706) record at the Walter Pyramid since the start of the 2011-12 season. The 49ers have posted at least 10 wins on their home court in each of the last four years.
JEWELYN SHINES
Junior Jewelyn Sawyer has emerged as one of Long Beach State's top players in 2015-16. Sawyer has reached double figures in scoring eight times and has accounted for two of LBSU's three double-doubles this year. She has registered a team-best 12.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, marking a significant improvement from last year when she averaged 2.4 points and 3.6 rebounds. Sawyer started the campaign with a bang, netting a career-high 20 points against San Diego State. She was the first 49er to hit 20 in a season opener since Karina Figueroa (23) and Lauren Sims (20) both accomplished the feat in 2009. The Paramount, Calif., native later matched her career best with 20 points at USC. Sawyer has also been very efficient as she ranks sixth in the Big West with a 50.6 field goal percentage.
CHASING 1,000
In her two-plus years at Long Beach State, junior Raven Benton has compiled 770 career points. She will need to average 11.5 points over the final 20 games to hit the 1,000-point mark during the regular season. That doesn't seem out of reach for Benton, who led the team in scoring as a freshman (12.2 ppg) and sophomore (11.5 ppg). If she gets to the benchmark by the end of the 2015-16 campaign, Benton will be the third 49er to do so in the last two seasons and the first to accomplish the feat in her third year at the Beach since Crystal McCutcheon in 2006.
SHE CAN DISH IT TOO
Benton has been the leading scorer in each of her first two years at Long Beach State, but this season she is tops on the team in assists with 31 (3.1 apg). She is only four shy of her previous season-best of 35, which she established as a sophomore. The Tacoma, Wash., native has dished out at least three helpers in six games, including a career-high seven in an 89-71 win vs. Portland State.
HELLO, MS. JACKSON
Freshman Chanterria Jackson (McKinney, Texas) has made an immediate impact in her first year at the Beach. The 6-foot-1 forward started her collegiate career by making nine-straight field goals, before her first career miss with 28 seconds left in the second quarter vs. Portland State on Nov. 15. She currently leads the Big West with a 70.5 field goal percentage (31-of-44). If Jackson can keep up her efficiency, while also reaching 100 field goals made, she will set a new LBSU single-season record which currently stands at 64.0 percent. That mark was established by Bev Groot back in 1978-79. Jackson is tied for third on the team with four double-figure scoring games and had a season-best 16 points against PSU.
TURNOVER TREND
Long Beach State forced a Big West-leading 21.4 turnovers per game last year, and has continued that trend in 2015-16 with a conference-best 210 turnovers forced (21.0/game). That mark also ranks 32nd in the nation. The 49ers have pressured six teams into 20 or more turnovers this season. They caused Portland State to commit a season-high 30 miscues, while they also wreaked havoc on San Diego State (21), Colorado (22), Houston (24), LSU (26) and Northern Arizona (27). Since head coach Jody Wynn's first year at the helm of the program in 2009-10, the Beach has forced 18.8 turnovers per game.
DEFENSIVE MINDED
Long Beach State has allowed more than 60 points only three times this season, and in two of those outings, the 49ers held their opponent under its season scoring average. San Francisco (78.2 ppg) and USC (75.8 ppg) both entered their match-up with the Beach averaging more than 75 points per contest, but scored 66 and 69, respectively. Portland State has been the only team to register more than 70 points against the LBSU defense this year.
Three teams have also failed to reach the 50-point mark against Long Beach, including Pac-12 member Colorado, which has hit 90 twice this year and is currently averaging 70.8 points per game.
UP NEXT
Long Beach State will take a break for the holidays before closing out its non-conference slate at Denver (Dec. 28) and Seattle (Dec. 31). The Beach then returns home to open Big West play against defending regular season champion Hawai'i on Thursday, Jan. 7.
