Long Beach State University Athletics
Beach Hosts UC Riverside in ESPN3 Game on Wednesday
1/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
UC Riverside (9-7, 2-0 Big West) at
Long Beach State (12-4, 1-1 Big West)
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 13
Time: 7:00 p.m. (PST)
Location: Walter Pyramid (4,200) - Long Beach, Calif.
Watch on ESPN3 | Listen on KBeach |
Game Notes: Long Beach State 
The Long Beach State women's basketball team welcomes UC Riverside to the Walter Pyramid on Wednesday, Jan. 13, for a 7 p.m. Big West showdown. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3 with Tim Becwar (PBP) and Maylana Douglas (Analyst) on the call.
QUICK HITS
• Long Beach State made a program and Big West record 20 3-pointers at Fullerton on Saturday, Jan. 9.
• LBSU shot 55.6 percent from behind the arc as 20 of its 29 field goals came from long distance vs. the Titans.
• The 49ers ended non-conference play on a season-long four-game win streak.
• That streak was snapped with their first defeat in a Big West opener since 2010-11.
• LBSU was the only Big West team to reach 10 wins in preseason action as it owns a league-best 12-4 record.
• The Beach ranks first in the Big West and 17th in the country in turnovers forced per game (21.1).
• Long Beach State has held 10 of its 16 opponents to 60 points or fewer, and five to under 50.
• That puts them at No. 44 in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 56.1 points per game.
• Head coach Jody Wynn earned her 100th career victory with LBSU's 48-41 triumph at Denver on Dec. 28.
• Raven Benton has two 20-plus point games this season, including a career-high 31 vs. UNLV on Dec. 20.
• Benton was the first 49er to reach the 30-point mark since 2010.
SCOUTING THE HIGHLANDERS
UC Riverside (9-7, 2-0 BWC) was one of two teams to start Big West play with a pair of wins last week as it defeated UC Irvine, 93-69, and UC Santa Barbara, 83-53. Senior and reigning conference player of the year Brittany Crain leads the Highlanders with 19.2 points per game. Junior Réjane Verin is also averaging 17.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists per outing, while senior Annelise Ito has registered 13.5 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists per contest.
SERIES RECORD
Long Beach State trails in its all-time series with UC Riverside, 17-16, but has won four of the last five meetings. The two teams split the season series last year with each team winning at home. UCR edged the Beach, 80-74, on Feb. 7, before LBSU came back with a 76-66 triumph on March 7. Madison Montgomery led the 49ers in the victory with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Long Beach State owns a 9-6 home record against the Highlanders.
BEACH FOR THREE
Long Beach State erupted for a Big West-record 20 3-pointers at Cal State Fullerton on Jan. 9. Their 20 threes also shattered the previous program record of 13, which the Beach established earlier this year vs. Portland State (Nov. 15). Nine of LBSU's 11 players connected from long distance with seven making multiple treys against the Titans.
The Beach now ranks second in the conference with 101 threes made (6.3/game). Every 49er has made at least one 3-pointer and five have hit at least 10, including Raven Benton (21), Jessica Gertz (16), Chanterria Jackson (13), Anna Kim (12) and Jewelyn Sawyer (11).
CHASING 1,000
In her two-plus years at the Beach, junior Raven Benton has compiled 876 career points. Benton, who is averaging a team-best 13.1 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, she 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 LBSU since Crystal McCutcheon (2006).
Benton has reached double figures in scoring 11 times this season. She netted a career-high 31 points in a non-conference win over UNLV on Dec. 20. That was the first 30-point performance by a 49er in five years. She also finished with 23 vs. Hawai'i, marking her eighth career 20-plus point game.
BENTON ON FIRE
After making just seven of her 37 3-point field goal attempts over the first 10 games (18.9 percent), Raven Benton has caught fire from long distance in the last six outings. During that stretch she has connected for 14 of her team-best 21 threes and is shooting 51.9 percent (14-27) from beyond the arc. The Tacoma, Wash., native drained a career-high five 3-pointers at Cal State Fullerton on Jan. 9.
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 with 45 assists (2.8 apg). She has already bettered her previous single-season best of 35, which she established as a sophomore. Benton has dished out at least three helpers nine times, 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 10 times and has accounted for two of LBSU's three double-doubles. She has registered 10.5 points and a team-best 6.6 rebounds per game, marking a significant improvement from last year when she averaged 2.4 points and 3.6 rebounds. Sawyer started the campaign by 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 ranks ninth in the Big West in field goal percentage (46.3) and is third on the team with 1.8 assists per outing. She has dished out at least one helper in 15 of 16 games.
MADI'S BLOCK PARTY
Junior Madison Montgomery (Englewood, Colo.) ranks fifth in the Big West with 1.4 blocks per contest. She has at least one in each of the last eight games, where she has totaled 16 of her team-leading 22 blocked shots. Montgomery, who has recorded multiple blocks eight times this year, finished with a season-high three at Pacific, at Denver and vs. Hawai'i. The 6-foot-1 forward is also averaging 8.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per outing. She notched career highs of 19 points vs. UNLV, 13 rebounds at Pacific and five assists at Seattle U. Montgomery added 11 points against the Tigers for her third career double-double.
BACK ON TRACK
Junior Anna Kim started the season making 66.7 percent (6-of-9) of her 3-point attempts, including a perfect 4-for-4 performance from long distance at Houston on Nov. 19. In the following game at LSU, Kim suffered an elbow injury that affected her shot as she went 2-of-19 from behind the arc over the next nine outings. The Fullerton, Calif., native got back on track with a three at Denver on Dec. 28, marking her first triple since Nov. 27. She continued to roll at Seattle U with two threes and a season-best 15 points. Kim has now made five 3-pointers in the last four games. She ranks ninth in school history with a career 3-point field goal percentage of 35.3.
WYNN WINS
Seventh-year head coach Jody Wynn (102-103) became the fourth coach in program history to join the century club with her 100th career victory coming at Denver on Dec. 28. The past three-plus seasons have been especially productive for Wynn and the 49ers as they have won 67 games and made two WNIT appearances.
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 337 turnovers forced (21.1/game). That mark also ranks 17th in the nation. The 49ers have pressured nine 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), Northern Arizona (27) and Cal State Fullerton (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.
PROTECT THE PYRAMID
LBSU has been tough to beat at home in recent years with a 50-21 (.704) record at the Walter Pyramid since the start of the 2011-12 season. The 49ers, who have posted at least 10 wins on their home court in each of the last four years, are currently 5-2 in the `Mid.
UP NEXT
Long Beach State will make the short trip to UC Irvine for a 2 p.m. Black & Blue Rivalry game against the Anteaters on Saturday, Jan. 16.
