Women’s Basketball Opens Season Against Biola

Tuesday, November 9

Long Beach, Calif.

7:00 PM

Long Beach State University

Biola

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Photo by: Joseph Kling

11/8/2021 5:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Long Beach State kick off the 2021-22 Season on Tuesday Night at the Walter Pyramid

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

GAME #1: LONG BEACH STATE vs. BIOLA
Date: Tuesday, Nov. 9
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Venue: Walter Pyramid
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Jason Schwartz
Twitter: @Beachwbb
Ticket Website: www.LongBeachState.com

COMPLETE LBSU GAME NOTES (PDF)

Women's Basketball Opens Season Against Biola
The Long Beach State women's basketball team kicks off the 2021-22 season on Tuesday, Nov. 9 against Biola at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid. The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Jason Schwartz on the call.

Catch All The Action
All Long Beach State home games will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Fans can sign up for ESPN+ for $5.99 per month ($59.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com, or on the ESPN App. It is also available as part of the Disney Bundle that gives subscribers access to DIsney +,ESPN+, and Hulu for $13.99 per month (Hulu with ads) or $19.99 per month (Hulu without ads). Fans can also follow stats updates on BeachLiveStats.com.

Staying 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.

COVID-19 Notes
• Mask mandates remain in place in the Walter Pyramid and are anticipated to last throughout the season. Additionally, State of California regulations mandate all spectators for events inside the Walter Pyramid must provide either proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of the event. That policy will be in place until further notice.

• If you are coming to the Walter Pyramid this season, please allow for extra time to enter the venue due to COVID-19 protocols as well as parking. Parking payment can be done in two ways, either at the parking machines on site or via the Parkmobile App.

About the Beach
• Long Beach State opens the 2021-22 season after having put together a 12-9 overall record a year ago with an 11-7 Big West Conference record in a season shortened by the COVID-19 Pandemic.
• Head Coach Jeff Cammon retuns to helm for his fifth season and his Beach were chosen to finish fourth in the Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll and second in the league's preseason media poll.
• Long Beach State returns nine letterwinners from a year ago including Big West All-Conference selections Justina King, Ma'Qhi Berry, and Patricia Chung.
• The Beach also welcome six newcomers (four transfers and two freshmen) highlighted by 2020 Mountain West Player of the Year Maddi Utti.
• King returns to the Beach at point guard after having earned All-Big West First Team accolades as well as Big West All-Defensive Team honors.
• The Scarborough, Canada native is coming off a season in which she averaged 13.7 points per game, 3.2 rebounds per game, and totaled 77 assists and 45 steals. King led the Beach in scoring and assists and was second on the squad in steals.
• Berry comes back for her junior season after being named to the Big West All-Defensive Team. She concluded the season with 9.1 points per game, 3.1 rebounds per game, 52 assists, and 38 steals.
• Chung had a breakout rookie season a year ago as she was named to the All-Freshman Team after posting 6.5 points per game, 2.6 rebounds per game, 20 assists, and 14 steals.
• Also returning to LBSU is the versatile Jasmine Hardy who was second on the team with 10.3 points per game, while also contributing 5.5 rebounds per game, and 22 steals.
• Sophomore guard, Kristyna Jeskeova, will be back in Black & Gold after leading the Beach in rebounding with 7.2 boards per game last season. She also led the team with 47 steals and 16 blocks.
• After redshirting a year ago, junior forward Lauren Green will be back on the court. Two years ago, Green was a key component who averaged 4.0 rebounds per game and 3.6 points per game, while grabbing 33 steals, and leading the team with 15 blocks.
• Kianna Hamilton-Fisher, a redshirt sophomore guard, is coming off of a 2020-21 season in which she averaged 5.4 points per game to go along with 3.1 rebounds per game, 25 steals, and 23 assists.
• Savannah Tucker made her Long Beach State debut last season and turned in a solid rookie season making two starts and playing in 17 of LBSU's 21 games. She finished the year with 2.4 points per game, 1.4 rebounds per game, while adding four steals, three blocks, and three assists.
• Myrrah Joesph came to LBSU last season after having played her first two seasons in Hawaii. Last season with the Beach, Joseph saw action in 10 games with two starts, and averaged 7.2 points per game and 4.5 rebounds per game.
• Senior forward Maddi Utti comes to Long Beach State after playing four seasons at Fresno State where she was named 2020 Mountain West Player of the Year. A two-time All-Mountain West Honorable Mention selection, Utti finished her senior season averaging 12.0 points per game, 8.0 rebounds per game, 2.5 assists per game, and 2.5 steals per game.
• Emily Sullivan is a senior forward who stands at 6-foot-4 and comes to LBSU after playing three seasons at North Carolina and one year at Florida. Sullivan comes into the Beach with 127 points, 111 rebounds, 40 blocks, nine steals, and nine assists.
• Brandy Huffhines is a junior guard who transferred from CSUN by way of Sacramento City College where she averaged 14.7 points per game, 3.7 assists per game and 2.7 rebounds per game in 56 games.
• Teodora Popovic rounds out the transfers for the Beach as the Futog, Serbia native comes to the Beach after a stop at George Mason where she played in 10 games and averaged 4.1 points per game and 6.0 assists per game.
• The Beach also welcomes a pair of incoming freshmen for the 2021-22 season in Shelby Ray and Thea Mikkelsen. Ray comes to Long Beach State from Lexington, Texas where she was a four-time First Team All-District selection and was named Offensive MVP all four year at Lexington ISD. Meanwhile, Mikkelsen makes her way to LBSU all the way from Roskilde, Denmark where she excelled as a point guard for the National Team for five years in a row. Mikkelsen also helped the U16 National Team win the European Championship.

Scouting Biola
• Biola comes into the game against Long Beach State having lost a pair of exhibitions earlier this season against San Diego State (79-52) and Loyola Marymount (87-73).
• The Eagles were picked to finish fifth in the PacWest preseason poll.
• Head Coach Alan Nakamura returns to Biola for his seventh season after having coached the Eagles to a 19-11 record en route to a trip to the semifinals in the PacWest Tournament.
• Returning to the court for the Eagles is redshirt junior guard Stephanie Lee who earned 2021 All-PacWest SoCal Pod after averaging 15.1 points per game, 4.8 rebounds per game, 2.8 assists per game, and 1.8 steals per game.
• The game against the Beach is an exhibition contest for the Division II Biola Eagles.
• Biola officially kicks off the 2021-22 campaign against Cal State Los Angeles on Friday, Nov. 12 at 2 p.m.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Eagles
Long Beach State and Biola will meet for just the fifth time in program history and for the first time since 2016. Overall, Long Beach State leads the all-time series 4-0 as the Beach defeated the Eagles in 1978, 1979, 1980, and 2016.

LBSU in Openers
Since Long Beach State women's basketball began playing in the 1963-64 season, the Beach have put together a 34-24 overall record in season openers. The Beach are 24-8 in their home opening games.

Defensively Strong
With Long Beach State returning most of its team from last season, including Justina King and Ma'Qhi Berry who were named to the 2020-21 Big West All-Defensive Team, the Beach's defense looks to continue to be strong. The well-established Beach defense has led the Big West in steals multiple times over the last several seasons, including last year in which the Beach led the league with 11.43 steals per set.

Next Up
Long Beach State will head to Boise, Idaho to take on Boise State on Saturday, November 13 at 2 p.m., before returning to the Walter Pyramid to host Seattle and Santa Clara on November 18 and 21, respectively.