Long Beach State Looks to Extend Winning Streak Against Cal State Fullerton

Friday, January 8

Long Beach, Calif.

4:00 PM

Long Beach State University

Cal State Fullerton

Photo by: Joseph Kling

Long Beach State Looks to Extend Winning Streak Against Cal State Fullerton

1/7/2021 1:12:00 PM | Women's Basketball

The Beach host the Titans on Friday and Saturday at the Walter Pyramid

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

Game #7 // #8
Long Beach State vs. Cal State Fullerton
Date: Friday, Jan. 8 // Saturday, Jan. 9
Time: 4:00 p.m. // 4:00 p.m.
Arena: Walter Pyramid
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
Watch: ESPN3
Friday's ESPN 3 Link
Saturday's ESPN3 Link
Friday's Talent: Jill Painter Lopez & Dave Miller
Saturday's Talent: Rahshaun Haylock & Dave Miller
Radio Talent: Nick Rice
Twitter: @BeachWBB

COMPLETE LBSU GAME NOTES (PDF)

Long Beach State Looks to Extend Winning Streak Against Cal State Fullerton
The Beach women's basketball team returns to the Walter Pyramid and brings a four-game winning streak with them. LBSU has swept both Big West opponents to open conference play as the Beach bring a 4-0 league record into the series against Cal State Fullerton. Long Beach State and the Titans will go head-to-head on Friday, Jan. 8 and Saturday, Jan. 9. Both games are scheudled to tip-off at 4 p.m., and will be broadcast on ESPN3.

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 has kicked off Big West Conference action with a 4-0 league record, marking the squad's best start to the conference season since the 2014-15 season.
• Overall, the Beach is 5-1 and riding a four-game winning streak after having swept UC Riverside and CSU Bakersfield in the last two weeks.
• LBSU is led by junior guard Justina King and redshirt junior forward Naomi Hunt as the duo average 15.5 and 13.7 points per game respectively.
• King is shooting a solid 41.3 percent from the field (31-for-75) and has connected on 10-of-20 threes, while averaging 3.5 rebounds per game, to go along with a team-leading 24 assists, 10 steals, and one block.
• Hunt, meanwhile, has been excellent from long distance as she has knocked down 16 threes in six games to bring her career total to 126 as she has moved into sole possession of fifth place all-time at Long Beach State.
• In addition to her offensive prowess from three-point range, Hunt also provides the Beach with an average of 5.2 rebounds per game, 13 assists, 11 steals, and one block.
• While the Beach offense has been on point thus far, shooting 44.9-percent from the field and averaging 68.2 points per game. The LBSU defense has also been key. The Beach are averaging 11.2 steals per game and have forced opponents into 17.7 turnovers per game. Additionally, Long Beach State is averaging 34.2 rebounds per game to go along with 14.3 assists per game, and 2.0 blocks per game.
• Leading the way for the Beach in rebounding is sophomore Kristyna Jeskeova who is averaging 7.7 boards per game. Additionally, Jeskeova has also contributed 4.3 points per game, while leading the team with 13 steals and five blocks.
• Off the bench, Myrrah Joseph has made an impact as the junior transfer from Hawaii is averaging 8.4 points per game, 5.2 rebounds per game, all while totaling eight assists, four steals, and one block, while shooting a team-leading 54.3 percent from the field.
• Jasmine Hardy made her return to the court after missing the last three game and exploded for 17 points, just one shy of her career-high. Hardy is averaging 8.0 points per game, 2.3 rebounds, per game, and 2.0 steals per game in just three games thus far.
• Freshman guard Patricia Chung has made the most of her collegiate experience so far as she is coming off of a career-high 12-point performance at CSU Bakersfield. If that weren't enough, Chung has been perfect from the free throw line going 11-for-11 in six games. She is shooting 50.0-percent from the field and 46.2-percent from long distance, while averaging 8.8 points per game and 3.5 rebounds per game. Additionally, Chung has contributed eight assists, four steals, and one block in her rookie season.
• 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 State Fullerton
• Cal State Fullerton comes into the series against Long Beach State with an 0-5 overall record and a 0-2 Big West mark.
• The Titans are looking for their first win of the season after having suffered losses to UCLA, UNLV, San Diego, and UC Santa Barbara.
• Amiee Book is the Titans' leading scorer with 16.0 points per game. She has also posted 5.2 rebounds per game to go along with five assists, four steals, and three blocks in five games.
• Cleaning up the glass for Cal State Fullerton is Joy Krupa with 8.0 rebounds per game. Krupa also contributes 6.0 points per game, while leading the team with 26 assists, eight steals, and five blocks.
• As a team, the Titans have struggled early on as the team is averaging 58.0 points per game, while allowing 82.2. Cal State Fullerton is shooting 40.1 percent from the field, while the Titans' opponents are shooting 45.8 percent.
• From three-point range, Cal State Fullerton is averaging 5.8 threes per game on 29.9 percent shooting.
• The Titans are also being out-rebounding by opponents 34.4 - 31.2. Meanwhile, Cal State Fullerton averages 14.6 assists per game, 5.8 steals per game, and 2.8 blocks per game thus far.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Titans
Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton will meet for the 119th and 120th time in program history. The Beach lead the all-time series 76-42. Last season, the conference foes split the series with the Titans defeating the Beach, 69-65, in Long Beach, Calif., on Jan. 11, 2020, before LBSU came away with a 52-49 win over Cal State Fullerton on March 4, 2020 in Fullerton, Calif.

Offensive Explosion
In just six games thus far, Long Beach State is averaging 68.2 points per game and shooting 44.9-percent from the field, while averaging 7.7 made three-point field goals per game. The Beach's offense has been solid in the first six games of the season as they own an 8.8 scoring margin over opponents. After years of being known as a defensively strong team, LBSU's offensive explosion as of late has the squad boasting four players who are shooting 50.0-percent or higher from the field in Myrrah Joseph (54.3), Ma'Qhi Berry (50.0), Jasmine Hardy (50.0), and Patricia Chung (50.0).

Defensively Strong
The Beach's defense has been well-established as LBSU has lead the Big West in steals multiple times over the last several season. That continues to hold true as Long Beach State's average of 11.2 steals per game are tops in the league once again. Leading the way for the Beach is Ma'Qhi Berry who has totaled 13 steals for 2.2 per game to rank fourth in the conference. Coming in behind her are teammates Naomi Hunt (11 steals), Kristyna Jeskeova (10 steals), and Justina King (10 steals). All of whom rank in the top 10 in the Big West. LBSU's strong defense has limited opponents to 59.3 points per game, while forcing them into 17.7 turnovers per game.

In the Hunt
Naomi Hunt is the Beach's leader in made three-pointers as she has amassed 16 thus far to average 2.7 per game, which is good for third in the Big West. Hunt has now accumulated 126 made threes in her career to take sole possession of fifth place all-time at Long Beach State. Although she his known for her sharp shooting from long distance, Hunt has also contributed in many other ways. In addition to averaging 13.7 points per game, Hunt also averages 5.2 rebounds per game, while registering 13 assists, 11 steals, and one block this season.

King is Queen
Junior guard Justina King is the Beach's leading scorer with 15.5. points per game which is good for eighth in the Big West. King appears several times in the Big West Top 10 as she ranks fourth in three-point field goal percentage (50.0), and eighth in assists (4.0), steals (1.7), and assists to turnover ratio (1.2). Additionally, she has led the Beach in scoring three times and in steals and assists once.

Berry Good
In six games, Ma'Qhi Berry has been a key component for the Beach. She is averaging 7.0 points per game with 3.3 rebounds per game. Berry has also totaled 18 assists and 13 steals. Her 2.2 steals per game rank her fourth in the Big West and tops at the Beach.

Czech Her Out
Kristyna Jeskeova, who hails from Jablonec Nad Nisou, Czech Republic has seemed to settle into her role cleaning up the glass. Jeskeova has led the Beach in rebounding in 4-of-6 games thus far and has reached double-figures three games. She registered a career-high 12 boards on two occasions and is averaging 7.7 rebounds per game, which leads the Beach and puts her in seventh place in the Big West. Jeskeova also averages 1.7 steals per game and 0.8 blocks per game which is good for eighth and 10th, respectively, in the conference.

Myrrah Myrrah With The Ball...
...Who is the fairest one of all? Myrrah Joseph, a junior transfer from Hawaii, has made herself at home at the Beach. She has seen action in five games off the bench thus far and is shooting a team-leading 54.3 percent from the field as she has connected on 19-of-35 field goals. She is averaging 8.4 points per game, 5.2 rebounds per game, with a total of eight assists, four steals, and one block.

Hardy Makes it Look Easy
Junior guard/forward Jasmine Hardy turned in a solid all-around effort in the Beach's 61-57 victory over CSU Bakersfield on Friday. She led LBSU in scoring with 17 points, one shy of her career-high, and kept the Beach competitive throughout the game. In just three games thus far, Hardy is averaging 8.0 points per game, and 2.3 rebounds per game, to go along with six steals.

She's Got it Down Pat
Freshman guard Patricia Chung recorded a career-high 12 points in Long Beach State's 68-59 victory over CSU Bakersfield on Saturday, marking her second double-figure performance in six games. She has been a key component for the Beach off the bench this season as she is third on the squad in scoring with 8.8 points per game, while adding 3.5 rebounds per game. Additionally, Chung has been solid on both sides of the ball dishing out eight assists and swiping six steals.

Next Up
Following a short break in action, Long Beach State will resume Big West Conference play at UC San Diego on Friday, Jan. 29 in La Jolla, Calif., at 5 p.m. The Beach and the Tritons will conclude the series on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 5 p.m., in La Jolla, Calif.