Sunday, December 16
Long Beach, Calif.
4 p.m.
Long Beach State University
2-10
57
vs
50
Grand Canyon
2-7
1
2
3
4
F
Grand Canyon
14
10
17
9
50
Long Beach State
9
21
19
8
57
Photo by: John Fajardo
Strong Defense Leads Long Beach State To 57-50 Win Over Grand Canyon
12/16/2018 6:34:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Beach forced the Lopes into 24 turnovers on the way to the win.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Setting a strong defensive tone early, Long Beach State forced Grand Canyon into 24 turnovers on Sunday and didn't trail in the second half, winning 57-50 behind 43 points off of the bench.
A new starting lineup showcased some of the best defenders for Long Beach State (2-10), and the energy on that end of the floor provided by that group showed the way as the Beach held Grand Canyon (2-7) to just 50 points on the night, a season-low for Long Beach State's opponents.
The teams settled in through the first five minutes in a 5-5 tie, but five points down the stretch for the Lopes gave Grand Canyon a 14-9 lead after the first quarter.
With Davison and Hunt coming off the bench, that gave the Beach plenty of extra punch that showed in the second quarter, as Hunt scored 14 points in the second quarter, including a three-point play and a trio of 3-pointers to help lead the Beach offensively in the quarter.
It was the defense that shined again down the stretch in the quarter. Down 24-20 after a Taylor Caldwell jumper, Long Beach State would go on a 10-0 run to close out the second quarter, holding Grand Canyon scoreless over the final four minutes to take a lead the team would never relinquish.
The Lopes cut the Long Beach State lead down to one in the third quarter, but the Beach quickly responded and a jumper by Hunt just before the buzzer brought the lead back to eight points.
https://twitter.com/beachwbb/status/1074473030129115136 A three from Jasmine Hardy in the fourth quarter extended Long Beach State's lead to 55-46 with 6:44 to play, and the Beach would allow the Lopes just two points over the next six minutes to seal the victory.
Hunt finished one off of her season-high with 20 points, while Hardy added 11 points and Shanaijah Davison nine, all coming off of the bench. Kianna Hamilton-Fisher had a solid all-around night from the starting group, finishing with five points, six rebounds three assists and four steals.
As a team, the Beach finished with 13 steals and forced Grand Canyon into 24 turnovers on the night.
Long Beach State will hit the road to face Utah State on Saturday, December 22 before closing out the 2018 and non-conference portions of the season on December 29, hosting New Mexico.
A new starting lineup showcased some of the best defenders for Long Beach State (2-10), and the energy on that end of the floor provided by that group showed the way as the Beach held Grand Canyon (2-7) to just 50 points on the night, a season-low for Long Beach State's opponents.
The teams settled in through the first five minutes in a 5-5 tie, but five points down the stretch for the Lopes gave Grand Canyon a 14-9 lead after the first quarter.
With Davison and Hunt coming off the bench, that gave the Beach plenty of extra punch that showed in the second quarter, as Hunt scored 14 points in the second quarter, including a three-point play and a trio of 3-pointers to help lead the Beach offensively in the quarter.
It was the defense that shined again down the stretch in the quarter. Down 24-20 after a Taylor Caldwell jumper, Long Beach State would go on a 10-0 run to close out the second quarter, holding Grand Canyon scoreless over the final four minutes to take a lead the team would never relinquish.
The Beach kept GCU off of the board for the final four minutes, and takes a 30-24 lead into halftime behind 14 points from Naomi Hunt. #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/wO12I7Jjzg
— LBSU W Basketball (@beachwbb) December 17, 2018
The Lopes cut the Long Beach State lead down to one in the third quarter, but the Beach quickly responded and a jumper by Hunt just before the buzzer brought the lead back to eight points.
Hunt beats the buzzer in the third as Long Beach State leads 49-41. The sophomore has 18 points to lead the Beach. #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/MTSSvBzNit
— LBSU W Basketball (@beachwbb) December 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/beachwbb/status/1074473030129115136 A three from Jasmine Hardy in the fourth quarter extended Long Beach State's lead to 55-46 with 6:44 to play, and the Beach would allow the Lopes just two points over the next six minutes to seal the victory.
Hunt finished one off of her season-high with 20 points, while Hardy added 11 points and Shanaijah Davison nine, all coming off of the bench. Kianna Hamilton-Fisher had a solid all-around night from the starting group, finishing with five points, six rebounds three assists and four steals.
As a team, the Beach finished with 13 steals and forced Grand Canyon into 24 turnovers on the night.
Long Beach State will hit the road to face Utah State on Saturday, December 22 before closing out the 2018 and non-conference portions of the season on December 29, hosting New Mexico.
Team Stats
GCUW
LBSU
FG%
.409
.368
3FG%
.313
.348
FT%
.750
.389
RB
39
30
TO
24
11
STL
7
13
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's BasketballF
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