Tuesday, March 12
Irvine, Calif.
8:30 PM

Long Beach State University

vs

Cal State Fullerton

Justina King
Photo by: John Fajardo

Long Beach State Set to Battle Cal State Fullerton in Big West Tournament First Round

3/11/2019 5:07:00 PM | Women's Basketball

The Beach and the Titans face off in the First Round on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. at the Bren Events Center

Game #30: No. 7 seed Long Beach State vs. No. 6 seed Cal State Fullerton
Date:
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
Time: 8:30 p.m.
Location: Irvine, Calif.
Arena: Bren Events Center
Webcast: ESPN3
Talent: Sam Farber (PxP), Dave Miller (Color) & Courtney Sweet (Sideline)
Radio: 22 West Radio
Radio Talent: Jay Holloway
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
Twitter Updates: @BeachWBB

Complete LBSU Game Notes (PDF)

Long Beach State Set to Battle Cal State Fullerton in Big West Tournament First Round

The Long Beach State women's basketball team, which earned a No. 7 seed in the Big West Tournament presented by Pacific Surfliner, will face off against No. 6 seed Cal State Fullerton in the First Round on Tuesday, March 12 at 8:30 p.m. at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, Calif.

About the Beach
• Long Beach State looks to snap a three-game losing skid when it takes on Cal State Fullerton in the First Round of the Big West Tournament on Tuesday. 
• The Beach closed out the regular season with an 8-21 overall record and a 5-11 Big West mark.
• LBSU is 38-26 when playing in the Big West Tournament and 3-4 as a No. 7 seed.
• Long Beach State has been a no. 7 seed in the Big West Tournament four times before. In 2012, the Beach made it to the Championship game at the Honda Center, but fell to No. 6 seed UC Santa Barbara, 63-54.
• The Beach is 3-2 when playing Cal State Fullerton in the Big West Tournament.
• Heading into the Big West Tournament, LBSU garnered three All-Conference selections. Justina King led the way as she was named Big West Freshman of the Year and earned a spot on the All-Freshman Team. Meanwhile sophomore Naomi Hunt collected All-Second Team accolades, while sophomore Shanaijah Davison earned an Honorable Mention selection.
• As a team, Long Beach State is shooting 35.8 percent from the field and averaging 56.1 points per game as we well as 32.0 rebounds per game. 
• Long Beach State has been solid defensively swiping 9.1 steals per game to rank second in the Big West. The Beach also boast a 2.4 turnover margin which is also good for second in the league.
• LBSU has been on point from three-point range all season as the Beach average 6.8 made threes per game, which ranks second in the Big West, and are shooting 30.5 percent from behind the arc.
• The Beach is a young team, with over 80% of available minutes going to freshmen and sophomores this season. Long Beach State's top four scorers are sophomores Shanaijah Davison (13.6 ppg) and Naomi Hunt (10.9 ppg), and freshmen Justina King (9.6 ppg) and Jasmine Hardy (6.2 ppg).
• Freshman Justina King came to the Beach fresh off an international appearance with Team Canada at the 2018 FIBA U18 Americas Championship. A Scarborough, Canada native, King has transitioned well into the collegiate game, starting every game so far for Long Beach State and leading the team in assists while averaging 9.5 points per game, including a 29-point performance against Montana State.

Scouting the Titans
• Cal State Fullerton earned a No. 6 seed in the Big West Tournament after finishing the regular season with a 14-15 record on the year and a 6-10 Big West Conference ledger.
• The Titans are averaging 62.9 points per game and 36.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 42.1 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from long distance.
• Daeja Smith sets the tone for the Titans leading the team in scoring (13.1 points per game), rebounding (8.8 rebounds per game), and blocks (44). She also owns a team-best 53.3 field goal percentage (153-for-287) which leads the Big West.
• In addition to Smith, the Titans boast two double-figure scorers in Raina Perez (12.9 ppg) and Jade Vega (10.1 ppg). Perez is also the team's leader in steals (39) and assists (137).
• Vega is second on the squad with 123 assists, while adding 9.9 points per game to go along with 39 steals.
• In the overall series, Long Beach State leads 74-41. Earlier this season the two teams split the series as the Beach defeated the Titans in Fullerton, and Cal State Fullerton earned the win over LBSU in Long Beach. When playing each other in the Big West Tournament, Long Beach State holds the edge, 3-2, over Cal State Fullerton. However, the last time the two teams faced off in the Tournament (2018), the Titans came away with a 79-66 win.

The Players
• Long Beach State continues be a dangerous team from behind the arc this season with a number of great shooters on the squad. The Beach is averaging 6.8 made threes per game to rank second in the Big West, and has four players shooting 30 percent or better from behind the arc. Leading the way is Naomi Hunt who has connected on 61-of-144 threes for a clip of 42.4 percent, while Cydnee Kinslow is shooting 31.3 percent (15-for-48), Jasmine Hardy is shooting 31.0 percent (22-for-71), and Sydney Bordonaro is shooting 30.6 percent (22-for-72).
• The Beach got a roster boost in the form of Illinois transfer Cydnee Kinslow who was cleared to join the team in late December. Kinslow immediately stepped into the starting lineup. Kinslow is now averaging 4.3 points per game, while leading the team in rebounding with 6.6 boards per game. She collected a double-double (10 points and 10 rebounds) at Hawaii on Feb. 16.
• Justina King has been solid for Long Beach State this season. The freshman guard leads the Beach with 95 assists, while adding 44 steals, and 9.6 points per game as the squad's third leading scorer.
• Naomi Hunt has been on fire from three-point range all season. She leads the team and conference with 2.1 three-point field goals made, and his third in the league shooting 42.6 percent from beyond the arc. Her hot-shooting from long distance translates to 10.9 points per game to rank her 12th in the Big West and second on Long Beach State.
• Junior Sydney Bordonaro has stepped up to play an important role in her first season at Long Beach State. A graduate transfer from Pepperdine, Bordonaro has been excellent for the Beach off of the bench, averaging 4.2 points per game while shooting 33.0 percent from the field. In the regular season finale, Bordonaro tallied a season-high 14 points as she connected on 4-of-5 three-point field goals.
• Freshman Kianna Hamilton-Fisher has continued to play a larger role as the season progresses. She is third on the team in steals (43) and is averaging 4.4 points per game. 
• Lauren Green has been an important post presence for the Beach in her first season. Starting 15 games and playing in each game this season, Green leads the team in blocked shots with 16 on the year.
• Jasmine Hardy and assistant coach Bryan Camacho have ties dating back before this season at Long Beach State, as Camacho was her head coach at Bishop Alemany HS where Hardy starred for four seasons. Hardy has made a quick adjustment to college ball, averaging 6.2 points per game while adding 3.1 rebounds per game and making four starts on the season.
• Shanaijah Davison had an incredible game in the opening contest of the season, scoring a career-high 34 points with five rebounds, six assists and three steals, but Long Beach State came up just shy despite that effort in an 85-83 loss to California Baptist. The sophomore also had the first double-double of the season in Long Beach State's win over Idaho, scoring 25 points with a career-high 12 rebounds. Davison is leads the team in scoring with 13.6 points per game, while adding 2.8 rebounds per game, 62 assists and 45 steals.

Up Next
• With a win over Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State would play either No. 3 seed UC Riverside or No. 4 seed CSUN in the Quarterfinals on Wednesday, March 13.

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