No. 5 Seed Long Beach State Takes on No. 8 Seed Cal Poly in First Round of Big West Tournament

Tuesday, March 10

Long Beach, Calif.

6:00 PM

Long Beach State University

Cal Poly

Photo by: John Fajardo

No. 5 Seed Long Beach State Takes on No. 8 Seed Cal Poly in First Round of Big West Tournament

3/9/2020 4:29:00 PM | Women's Basketball

The Beach host the Mustangs at the Pyramid on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

Game #30
Long Beach State vs. Cal Poly
Date: Tuesday, March 10
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Arena: Walter Pyramid
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
Listen: 22WestMedia.com
Talent: Nick Rice
Watch: ESPN3
Twitter: @BeachWBB

Big West Tournament Schedule of Events
March 10 - First Round (at the Walter Pyramid)
No. 5 Long Beach State vs. No. 8 Cal Poly - 6:00 p.m.
No. 6 CSUN vs. No. 7 Cal State Fullerton - 8:30 p.m.

March 11 - Quarterfinals (at the Walter Pyramid)
No. 3 UC Irvine vs. Lowest Seed Remaining - 6:00 p.m.
No. 4 Hawaii vs. Highest Seed Remaining - 8:30 p.m.

March 13 - Semifinals (at the Honda Center)
No. 1 UC Davis vs. Lowest Seed Remaining - 12 p.m.
No. 2 UC Santa Barbara vs. Highest Seed Remaining - 2:30 p.m.

March 14 - Finals (at the Honda Center)
Championship Game - 3:00 p.m.

Complete LBSU Notes (PDF)

No. 5 Seed Long Beach State Takes on No. 8 Seed Cal Poly in First Round of Big West Tournament
Long Beach State closed out the regular season with a pair of victories to secure the No. 5 seed in the Big West Tournament. The Beach will go up against No. 8 seed Cal Poly on Tuesday, March 10 at 6 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3. The winner will advance to the quarterfinals and will face either No. 3 seed UC Irvine or No. 4 seed Hawaii on Wednesday, March 11 at either 6 p.m. or 8:30 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid.

Getting Social
Follow Long Beach State women's basketball on Twitter and Instagram at @BeachWBB. You can also stay up-to-date on all things Long Beach State by following @LBSUAthletics on Twitter. Be sure to "like" us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram at @LBSU. And don't forget our hashtag #GoBeach.

About the Beach
• Long Beach State closed out the regular season with a pair of key Big West Conference victories over Cal State Fullerton and conference-leading UC Davis to secure the No. 5 seed in the Big West Tournament.
• The Beach head into the Big West Tournament with a 13-16 overall record, after having finished the conference with an 8-8 league record.
• LBSU will face No. 8 seed Cal Poly in the Big West Tournament on Tuesday evening. Overall, Long Beach State is 7-0 against the Mustangs in the Big West Tournament.
• The Beach are averaging 58.2 points per game and are shooting 36.8 percent from the field.
• As a team, Long Beach State is averaging 31.5 rebounds per game to go along with 10.7 assists per game, 10.5 steals per game, and 2.0 blocks per game.
• LBSU leads the Big West in steals with 305 to average 10.5 per game. The Beach are also tops in the conference in turnover margin (+6.3).
• Sophomore guard Justina King was named to the All-Big West Conference Second Team as well as the All-Defensive Team. King finished the regular season leading the Beach in scoring (13.8 ppg) and assists (96).
• Guards Justina King and Shanaijah Davison lead the Beach in scoring with 13.8 points per game and 12.6 points per game, respectively.
• Davison cracked the top 15 all-time at Long Beach State with 1,188 career points. She is also just one trey away from moving into the top 10 at the Beach in made three-point field goals with 110.
• Cydnee Kinslow is the team's leading rebounder with 5.8 boards per game. She has racked up five double-figure rebounding games so far and has led the squad in boards on 13 occasions this season and 23 in her LBSU career.
• Ma'Qhi Berry leads the Beach with 65 steals to average 2.4 per game which is tops in the Big West. She leads a quartet of LBSU players who rank in the top 15 in the league.
• King is the Beach's leader in assists with 96 to average 3.2 assists per game to rank in the top 10 in the Big West.
• Lauren Green is the team's leader in blocks as the sophomore forward has put up 13 on the year so far, while Jasmine Hardy and Cydnee Kinslow are right behind her with 12 and 11, respectively.
• Long Beach State has officially changed the nickname for all sports other than baseball to Beach with the NCAA. Please do not refer to LBSU basketball as the 49ers.

Scouting Cal Poly
Cal Poly is the No. 8 seed in the Big West Tournament after having finished the regular season with a 9-18 overall record and a 6-10 mark in the Big West.

The Mustangs have two players who average double-figures in Sierra Campisano and Abbey Ellis who boast 16.9 points per game and 14.9 points per game. Campisano is also the team leader in rebounding (8.1 per game) assists (47) and blocks (20), while adding 20 steals. Ellis, meanwhile, sets the standard with 39 steals on the year.

As a team, Cal Poly is shooting 39.7 percent from the field and averaging 38.1 rebounds per game.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Mustangs
Long Beach State and Cal Poly will meet for the 72nd time in program history on Tuesday evening. The Beach lead the all-time series 47-24. Earlier this season, the Beach and the Mustangs split the series 1-1 with LBSU winning 72-69 on Jan. 9 at the Walter Pyramid, and Cal Poly defeating the Beach 61-41 in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

When facing each other in the Big West Tournament, Long Beach State leads the all-time series 7-0. This is the first time the two teams will meet in Big West Tournament action since 2016 when Long Beach State defeated Cal Poly, 54-52, in the quarterfinals at the Bren Events Center.

King's All-Conference Honors
Long Beach State guard Justina King was named to the Big West All-Conference Second Team and All-Defensive Team after an excellent sophomore campaign.

King is the Beach's team leader in scoring, with 13.8 points per game, and assists, with 96. She has also contributed 2.0 rebounds per game and 51 steals on the year.

The Scarborough, Canada native has led Long Beach State in scoring 14 times this season and has racked up five 20-plus point performances to go along with 22 double-figure scoring showings. King has also led the Beach in assists on 16 occasions, and steals eight times.

King recorded a season-high 23 points three times this season, while distributing a season-best seven assists in the season-opener at California Baptist.

Defensively Strong
Defense has been the name of the game for Long Beach State this season. The defensively sound team leads the Big West Conference in steals with 305 for an average of 10.7 per game. The Beach have forced their opponents into more than 500 turnovers (20.8 per game) and boast a conference-leading 635 assist/turnover ratio. Leading the Beach defense with 65 steals is redshirt sophomore Ma'Qhi Berry. Her average of 2.4 steals per game is tops in the Big West as she leads a quartet of LBSU players who rank in the top 15 in the league in steals per game. Coming in behind Berry are Justina King (1.8 steals per game), Cydnee Kinslow (1.4 steals per game), and Shanaijah Davison (1.4 steals per game).

A Grand Time
Junior guard Shanaijah Davison became the 26th LBSU women's basketball player to record 1,000 points in her career. Davison reached the milestone when she recorded 19 points in a 72-69 victory over Cal Poly to open Big West Conference action. She has now amassed 1,188 points in her career to rank 15th all-time.

Rewriting the Record Book
If moving into the top 20 all-time in career-points wasn't enough, junior guard Shanaijah Davison is also on the verge of breaking into the top 10 in 3-point field goals made. Davison has sunk 110 threes in her LBSU career which is just one three-pointer away from cracking the top 10 all-time at Long Beach State.

Cleaning up the Glass
The Beach are averaging 31.5 rebounds per game this season and are paced by senior forward Cydnee Kinslow's 5.8 boards per game. Kinslow has record double-figure rebounds in five games this season and has led the Beach in boards 13 times. Just last week, Kinslow grabbed a career-high 14 boards in a 52-49 victory over Cal State Fullerton in which she tallied her third double-double of the season.

King is Queen
Justina King has continued to lead Long Beach State throughout her sophomore season. The 5-foot-8 guard out of Scarborough, Canada has been a consistent player on the court all season as she leads the team in scoring with 13.8 points per game, while leading the squad with 96 assists for an average of 3.2 assists per set which ranks in the top 10 in the Big West. King also adds 2.0 rebounds per game and 51 steals while shooting 37.2 percent from the field. She is a 75-percent free throw shooter and, despite being an underclassman, has stepped into a leadership role on the court.

Berry Good
Redshirt sophomore Ma'Qhi Berry has been an asset to the Beach all season. The product out of Irving, Texas has contributed well on both sides of the ball as she averages 8.7 points per game for the offense, while also leading the team in steals with 65. Her 2.4 steals per game are tops in the Big West. Additionally, Berry contributes 3.9 rebounds per game, 73 assists and six blocks.

Green Machines
Long Beach State's Lauren Green and Aaryon Green are not related, but both give the Beach solid play when on the court. Lauren Green is a sophomore forward from Tucson, Ariz., while Aaryon Green is a redshirt senior out of Rialto, Calif. Lauren has started in 21-of-29 games so far and leads the team with 13 blocks, while adding 4.0 rebounds per game, 3.7 points per game, and 32 steals. Meanwhile, Aaryon has also earned 21 starts and has registered 3.8 points per game, 3.4 rebounds per game, 29 steals, 13 assists, and nine blocks.

Hardy Makes it Look Easy
Sophomore Jasmine Hardy has really stepped things up as of late as the 6-foot-1 versatile Hardy has led the Beach in blocks in four of the team's last five games. The Santa Clarita, Calif., native is currently averaging 7.1 points per game to go along with 2.8 rebounds per game, while adding 31 steals, 15 assists, and 12 blocks. She has played in all 29 of the Beach's games this season and has earned 13 starts, while averaging 22.9 minutes per game.