Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
3-3
USC
5-1
LONG BEACH STATE COMES UP SHORT AT USC, 82-74
11/27/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Junior guard Gigi Hascheff poured in a career-high 21 points, while sophomore forward Chanterria Jackson added 16, but the Long Beach State women's basketball team was unable to overcome 51.9 percent shooting from the USC offense as the 49ers' rally came up short in an 82-74 loss at the Galen Center on Sunday.
The Beach (3-3) kept it close in the first half, but a hot-shooting Trojan (5-1) team came out in the third quarter and out-shot LBSU 76.9 percent to 35.3 to pull away. Despite Long Beach State's efforts in the fourth quarter - including outscoring USC 26-14 - the Beach was unable to pull off the come from behind win.
"I credit USC," Long Beach State head coach Jody Wynn said. "They played really well. When Minyon Moore steps up and makes four threes and gets to the free throw line at ease it's tough. It's tough enough to stop Kristen Simon, but when Minyon is stretching the defense and making us play chase a little bit; that was really the game.
"I'm proud of our defensive effort in the full court and understanding better angles helped us today. We are learning from past mistakes and past games. I think we did a pretty good job on scrapping on plays and diving on the ball and rotating when the ball was low. We were a little lower to the ground than they were at times and we were able to capitalize on their errors. That's kind of what kept us in the game - in the first half at least - that we forced turnovers."
Early on, the game was a back and forth affair as the two teams traded leads seven times and battled through a pair of ties in the first half. By halftime, Long Beach State was down by just seven points (40-33) and was leading on the defensive end with nine steals to USC's four. Additionally, the 49ers forced 17 turnovers in the first 20 minutes of action and tallied 19 points off of turnovers.
The third quarter seemed to be the difference maker as the Trojans out-scored the Beach 28-15 and shot 76.9 percent from the field while holding the 49ers to 35.3 percent and just 22.2 percent from beyond the arc. USC led by as many as 23 points (68-45) in the frame, but the Beach refused to go quietly as Long Beach State fought back in the fourth quarter to make it a six-point game (80-74) with just 19 seconds left.
Hascheff tallied eight points in the final 20 minutes of action and drained a pair of three-pointers to spark the 49ers' comeback attempt. With the margin shrinking, Jackson hit a jumper to pull the Beach within 10 (73-63), before Jewelyn Sawyer made a pair of free throws to make it a two-possession game (80-74). However, the Beach was unable to close the book on USC as the Trojans went on to win the game by a score of 82-74.
USC's Moore led all scorers with 23 points, while Simon added 19 points and 15 rebounds for a double-double. Valerie Higgins and Sadie Edwards each contributed 10 points to round out the double-figure scorers for the Trojans.
Long Beach State finished the game with 17 steals, while forcing 29 turnovers in a strong defensive effort. Anna Kim grabbed five steals, while Hascheff swiped four.
The Beach will continue its road swing at the ASU Classic in Tempe, Ariz., when LBSU takes on No. 16 Florida on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 1:30 p.m.
