Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
6-22 (4-10BWC)
Hawai'i
11-16 (4-10BWC)
Long Beach State Emerges Victorious in Overtime Against Hawaii
2/24/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 24, 2018
LONG BEACH -- Long Beach State earned its third straight victory behind five double-figure performances on Saturday as the Beach defeated Hawaii, 85-80, in overtime at the Walter Pyramid.
The Beach (6-22, 4-10 Big West) shot 50-percent from the field in the overtime period and limited the Rainbow Wahine (11-16, 4-10 Big West) to 25 percent shooting as Long Beach State emerged victorious for its third straight win to pull into a tie for the Big West Tournament seven seed.
Freshman guard Shanaijah Davison led five double-figure scorers with a 22-point performance as she made nine field goals in the game. Senior guard Cecily Wilson turned in another solid effort as she added 17 points and six rebounds to go along with a pair of steals. Freshman Naomi Hunt tallied 16 points with five boards, while Emma Merriweather and Martina McCowan each added 10 points in the contest. Merriweather led the Beach with seven rebounds.
Long Beach State used another team effort as the Beach have now won four of their last six games.
As a team, the Beach shot 45.5 percent (30-for-66) from the field and 41.2 percent (7-for-17) from long distance. Leading the way from beyond the arc was Wilson who was 3-for-3 from three-point range.
The Beach started the game off strong shooting an impressive 60-percent (9-for-15) from the field in the first quarter as they outscored the Rainbow Wahine 22-15.
By halftime, Long Beach State was leading Hawaii 35-28 and shooting nearly 50-percent (14-for-29). Wilson reached double-figures in the opening half as she poured in 14 points to lead the Beach.
With everything going the Beach's way, Hawaii mounted a comeback in the third quarter. The Rainbow Wahine used an 8-0 run to even the score at 37-all before taking a 53-44 advantage.
Despite a tough third quarter, the Beach fought back in the fourth and shot 56.3 percent (9-for-16) from the field and scored 26 points in the frame. Wilson hit a three at 8:45 to make it a two-possession game and the Beach used a 9-0 run to cut Hawaii's lead down to two (56-54) before Davison evened the score with a jumper.
Hunt eventually gave Long Beach State the lead with a three at 3:23 (66-65) and the two teams found themselves deadlocked at 70-70 at the end of regulation.
The Beach played hard in the final five minutes of action as they outscored the Rainbow Wahine 15-10 in the frame to seal the victory. Davison recorded five of LBSU's point in the overtime period, while Merriweather added four.
Long Beach State will return to action on Thursday, March 1 when it hosts UC Riverside at the Walter Pyramid at 7 p.m.
