Long Beach State University Athletics
Beach Wraps up Non-Conference Slate at Seattle
12/26/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Long Beach State (10-3) at
Seattle (5-8)
Date: Thursday, Dec. 31
Time: 2 p.m. (PST)
Location: Connolly Complex (1,050) - Seattle, Wash.
Watch | Listen | Live Stats
Game Notes: Long Beach State 
| Seattle
The Long Beach State women's basketball team concludes the 2015 calendar year with its final non-conference game at Seattle U on Thursday, Dec. 31. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at the Connolly Complex.
QUICK HITS
• Head coach Jody Wynn earned her 100th career victory with LBSU's 48-41 triumph at Denver on Monday.
• Long Beach State defeated UTEP and UNLV to win the Beach Classic for the second year in a row.
• Raven Benton was named the MVP, while Madison Montgomery earned all-tournament honors.
• Benton scored a career-high 31 points vs. UNLV, marking the first 30-point effort by a 49er since 2010.
• Benton has made 266 career free throws, which ranks 10th in school history.
• The Beach (10-3) is the highest-ranked Big West team in the NCAA RPI at No. 57.
• LBSU is first in the Big West and 23rd in the country in turnovers forced per game (21.1).
• The 49ers have held nine of their 13 opponents to 60 points or fewer, and five to under 50.
• That puts them at No. 30 in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 54.8 points per game.
• Long Beach State made a program single-game record 13 threes in an 89-71 win over Portland State.
WYNN WINS
Seventh-year head coach Jody Wynn (100-102) picked up her 100th career victory at Long Beach State with a 48-41 triumph at Denver on Monday. She is the fourth coach in program history to reach the century mark.
A GLANCE AT SEATTLE U
Seattle U (5-8) dropped its third-straight game with an 82-62 loss at Oregon on Monday. Senior center Taelor Ross leads the Redhawks with 14.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. Sophomore guard Ashlyn Lewey is also averaging 11.1 points and a team-best 6.5 boards per outing.
SERIES RECORD
Long Beach State trails in its all-time series with Seattle, 2-1. LBSU picked up its lone series win in the 2014-15 season opener at the Walter Pyramid, 85-73. Madison Montgomery tied for the team lead with 13 points, while Chantel Dooley finished with 12. Raven Benton also pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds.
CHASING 1,000
In her two-plus years at Long Beach State, junior Raven Benton has compiled 823 career points. Benton, who is averaging a team-best 12.1 points per game, is on pace to reach the 1,000-point milestone this year. 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 also tops on the team in assists with 37 (2.8 apg). She has already bettered her previous single-season best of 35, which she established as a sophomore. The Tacoma, Wash., native has dished out at least three helpers in seven games, including a career-high seven in an 89-71 win vs. Portland State.
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. She has registered 10.5 points and a team-best 7.1 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 also owns a 46.4 field goal percentage and ranks third on the team with 1.9 assists outing. She has dished out at least one helper in every game.
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 274 turnovers forced (21.1/game). That mark also ranks 23rd in the nation. The 49ers have pressured eight 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), Denver (23), Houston (24), LSU (26), UTEP (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 19.0 turnovers per game.
DEFENSIVE MINDED
Long Beach State has allowed more than 60 points only four times this season, and in three of those outings, the 49ers still held their opponents under their season scoring average. Most impressive was the fact that they kept San Francisco (66) and USC (69) to fewer than 70, despite both teams entering the match-up averaging more than 75 points per contest. Portland State has been the only team to register more than 70 points against LBSU this year.
Five teams have also failed to reach the 50-point mark against Long Beach, including Pac-12 member Colorado and previously unbeaten UTEP. Both of those teams have hit 90 at least once this year and are averaging 70.6 and 71.5 points per game, respectively.
UP NEXT
Long Beach State returns home to open Big West play against Hawai'i on Jan. 7. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid.
