Long Beach State University Athletics
LBSU Continues Big West Play at Cal State Fullerton
1/6/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Long Beach State (11-4, 0-1 Big West) at
Cal State Fullerton (2-12, 0-0 Big West)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 9
Time: 4 p.m. (PST)
Location: Titan Gym (4,000) - Fullerton, Calif.
Watch | Listen | Live Stats
Game Notes: Long Beach State 
| Cal State Fullerton
The Long Beach State women's basketball team will look to bounce back from a Big West-opening loss to Hawai'i when it makes the short trip to Cal State Fullerton for a 4 p.m. showdown with the Titans on Saturday, Jan. 9.
QUICK HITS
• LBSU was the only Big West team to reach 10 wins in preseason action as it owns a league-best 11-4 record.
• Long Beach State ended non-conference play on a season-long four-game win streak.
• That streak was snapped with the 49ers' first defeat in a Big West opener since 2010-11.
• LBSU ranks first in the Big West and 25th in the country in turnovers forced per game (20.7).
• The 49ers have held 10 of their 15 opponents to 60 points or fewer, and five to under 50.
• That puts them at No. 41 in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 55.8 points per game.
• Long Beach State made a program single-game record 13 threes in an 89-71 win over Portland State.
• 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.
WYNN WINS
Seventh-year head coach Jody Wynn (101-103) 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 66 games and made two WNIT appearances.
LAST TIME OUT
Long Beach State fell behind early and was never able to catch defending Big West regular season champion Hawai'i as the 49ers dropped a 67-55 decision in their conference opener Thursday evening at the Walter Pyramid. The Beach, which trailed by as many as 15, made it a one-point game in the third quarter and again with 8:53 left in the fourth, but the Rainbow Wahine had an answer to every LBSU run.
Junior Raven Benton led the 49ers with a game-high 23 points. She also had four rebounds, three steals and two of Long Beach State's season-low three assists. Benton matched her career best with 11 free throws made. Junior Anna Kim added eight points, while classmates Jewelyn Sawyer and Madison Montgomery each finished with five. Sawyer pulled down a team-best six boards. LBSU was outrebounded, 52-29, including a 20-to-9 margin on the offensive glass.
A GLANCE AT CAL STATE FULLERTON
After winning its first two games, Cal State Fullerton (2-12, 0-0 Big West) has lost 12 in a row. Saturday marks the Titans' Big West opener as they did not play on Thursday. Freshman Michelle Berry leads CSF with 14.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Freshman Dani Craig is also averaging 10.5 points per outing.
SERIES RECORD
Long Beach State leads in its all-time series with Cal State Fullerton, 69-40, and has won the last three. The 49ers swept the Titans in 2015, winning 74-70 at home (Jan. 31) and 69-62 on the road (Feb. 28). Raven Benton led the Beach in the first meeting with a team-best 20 points, while Cece Wilson had a then career-high 12 points in the victory at Fullerton.
CHASING 1,000
In her two-plus years at the Beach, junior Raven Benton has compiled 859 career points. Benton, who is averaging a team-best 12.9 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).
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 42 assists (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 eight 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 nine times and has accounted for two of LBSU's three double-doubles. She has registered 10.5 points and a team-best 6.9 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 ranks ninth in the Big West in field goal percentage (46.1) and is third on the team with 1.7 assists per outing. She has dished out at least one helper in 14 of 15 games.
UP NEXT
Long Beach State continues Big West action with another home and away next week as it hosts UC Riverside (Wednesday, Jan. 13) before heading to UC Irvine (Saturday, Jan. 16). LBSU's game against the Highlanders will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
