Beach Women’s Basketball Hosts UC Davis in a Battle of the Unbeatens

Friday, February 12

Long Beach, Calif.

4:00 PM

Long Beach State University

UC Davis

Photo by: John Fajardo

Beach Women’s Basketball Hosts UC Davis in a Battle of the Unbeatens

2/11/2021 2:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball

The Beach and the Aggies will tip-off at 4 p.m. on Friday and Saturday with both contests broadcast on ESPN3

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

Game #13 // #14
Long Beach State vs. UC Davis
Date: Friday, Feb. 12 // Saturday, Feb. 13
Time: 4:00 p.m. // 4:00 p.m.
Arena: Walter Pyramid
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats
Watch: ESPN3
Friday Stream Link
Friday Talent: Matt Brown & Bill Herenda
Saturday Stream Link
Saturday Talent: Rahshaun Haylock & Richie Schueler
Radio: 22 West
Radio Talent: Nick Rice
Twitter: @BeachWBB

COMPLETE LBSU GAME NOTES (PDF)

Beach Women's Basketball Hosts UC Davis in a Battle of the Unbeatens
The Long Beach State women's basketball team puts its 10-game winning streak to the test this weekend as the Beach face UC Davis, the only other undefeated program in the Big West Conference. The Beach and the Aggies will meet on Friday, Feb. 12 at 4 p.m., and again on Saturday, Feb. 13 at 4 p.m. in a conference showdown. Both contests will be broadcast live 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 brings a 10-game winning streak into the series against UC Davis this weekend.
• The Beach are 11-1 overall, while the Aggies are 5-1. Both squads are undefeated in Big West Conference action with LSBU owning a 10-0 league record and UC Davis boasting a 4-0 ledger.
• Long Beach State went a perfect 6-0 during the month of January and look to continue that streak through February. The Beach have not lost a game since Dec. 23 at USC.
• When playing inside the Walter Pyramid, Long Beach State is 6-0 this season.
• LBSU boasts three players who are averaging double figures. Leading that group is Justina King with 15.0 points per game, while Naomi Hunt is second on the squad with 11.9 points per game, and Jasmine Hardy rounds out the trio with 11.8 points per game.
• In addition to leading the Beach in scoring, King also leads the team with 47 assists as she tallied a total of 15 helpers last weekend including a career-high nine in the final game of the series against UC Santa Barbara.
• Hunt leads the squad with 17 made three-point field goals. She has now amassed 127 three-point field goals in her career to rank fifth all-time at Long Beach State.
• Hardy has heated up as of late recording four consecutive double-digit performances to average 16.5 points per game over the last four games. Most recently, Hardy notched back-to-back double-doubles to lead LBSU to a pair of victories over UC Santa Barbara.
• Kristyna Jeskeova has been on point for the Beach as she leads the team with 7.8 rebounds per game and nine blocks. Additionally, Jeskeova averages 4.8 points per game to go along with a team-best 27 steals, and 13 assists.
• As a team, Long Beach State is shooting 42.4 percent from the field and averaging 66.9 points per game. The Beach has held their opponents to 56.4 point per game for a scoring margin of nearly 10.5, which is tops in the Big West.
• In addition to LBSU's solid offensive showing, the Beach still remain a strong defensive team as Long Beach State leads the Big West with 11.8 steals per game, while forcing opponents in to 18.8 turnovers per game.
• 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 UC Davis
• UC Davis comes into the game against Long Beach State with a 5-1 overall record and a perfect 4-0 mark in Big West action.
• The Aggies opened the 2020-21 season with an 82-75 win over San Francisco on Nov. 25, before taking a two-month hiatus due to COVID restrictions in Yolo County.
• Following that break in action, UC Davis has rolled through Big West Conference play with victories over UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara, before dropping a non-conference contest to No. 12/11 Oregon.
• The Aggies are ranked 18th in the Mid-Major Poll. In that same poll, Long Beach State is receiving votes.
• UC Davis has four players averaging double-figures led by Sage Stobbart's 14.2 points per game. Behind Stobbart are Cierra Hall (13.7 ppg), Evanne Turner (13.0 ppg), and Kayla Konrad (10.7 ppg).
• Stobbart also leads the Aggies in rebounding with 8.0 boards per game, while Hall is second on the squad with 7.2.
• Mackenzie Trpcic has dished out 42 assists on the season to set the tone for the Aggies, while Hall is second with 20 helpers.
• Stobbart has been solid on both sides of the ball putting up 14 blocks to lead the Aggies thus far.
• UC Davis is shooting 45.9 percent from the field, while averaging 70.3 points per game.
• The Aggies are limiting opponents to 62.0 points per game on 37.8 percent shooting.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Aggies
Long Beach State and UC Davis will meet for the 38th and 39th time in program history. The Beach holds a slight lead over the Aggies in the all-time series with a 19-18 record. Until last season, UC Davis had won five-straight contests against Long Beach State. But last season on March 7, the Beach earned their first win over the Aggies since 2017 with a 66-57 victory at the Walter Pyramid.

Perfect January
Long Beach State completed the month of January going a perfect 6-0. It was the first undefeated January the program has seen since 1989 when the team went 7-0 under then head coach Joan Bonvicini. The Beach blazed through January 2021 with a pair of victories over CSU Bakersfield, Cal State Fullerton, and UC San Diego. During that span, LBSU outscored its opponents 392-333 to average 65.3 points per game to its counterpart's 55.5.

BWC POW
This season Long Beach State has boasted two different Big West Conference Players of the Week in Justina King and Jasmine Hardy. Hardy was the most recent winner as she earned the honors on Monday, Feb. 8 after leading the Beach to a pair of victories over UCSB last weekend. Hardy notched a pair of double-doubles, including career-highs in points (19) and rebounds (14) on Friday.

Offensive Explosion
Long Beach State is averaging 66.9 points per game and shooting 42.4-percent from the field, while averaging 6.2 made three-point field goals per game. The Beach's offense has been solid as they own a 10.5 scoring margin over opponents, which tops the Big West. After years of being known as a defensively strong team, LBSU's offensive explosion as of late has the squad boasting three players who are shooting 50.0-percent or higher from the field in Patricia Chung (51.1), Jasmine Hardy (50.0), and Myrrah Joseph (50.0). The Beach also have a trio of double-figure scorers in Justina King (15.0 ppg), Naomi Hunt (11.9 ppg), and Hardy (11.8 ppg).

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 seasons. That continues to hold true as Long Beach State's average of 11.8 steals per game are tops in the league once again. Additionally, the Beach rank in the Top 10 in the nation in steals per game as LBSU sits in ninth place. Leading the way for the Beach in steals is Kristyna Jeskeova with 27. Behind her are Justina King (26), Ma'Qhi Berry (19), and Jasmine Hardy (16). The quartet are all ranked in the Top 10 in the Big West as well with Jeskeova in third, King tied for fourth, Berry seventh, and Hardy in ninth.

In the Hunt
Naomi Hunt is the Beach's leader in made three-pointers as she has amassed 17 thus far to average 1.9 per game. Hunt has now accumulated 127 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 11.9 points per game, Hunt also averages 4.4 rebounds per game, while registering 16 assists, 14 steals, and one block this season.

King is Queen
Junior guard Justina King is the Beach's leading scorer with 15.0 points per game. She also leads Long Beach State with 47 assists. Just last weekend, King averaged a whopping 7.5 assists per game as she tallied six helpers on Friday, then came back on Saturday and dished out a career-high nine. On the year, she averages 3.9 assists per game which is good for seventh in league stats.

Berry Good
The versatile Ma'Qhi Berry has been a key component for the Beach as she has consistently contributed on both sides of the ball in each game. She is averaging 8.5 points per game with 3.2 rebounds per game. Berry has also totaled 26 assists and 19 steals. Her 1.9 steals per game rank her seventh in the Big West, while she also comes in eighth in league stats in offensive rebounds with 2.0 per game.

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 seven games thus far and has reached double-figures in six games. Jeskeova has recorded two double-doubles on the year and also leads the Beach with 27 steals to average 2.3 per game, which is good for third in the conference.

Hardy Makes it Look Easy
Junior Jasmine Hardy has really begun to heat up over the last four games. The Santa Clarita, Calif., native has tallied four consecutive double-digit scoring games including back-to-back double-doubles last weekend. Last Friday, she registered new career-highs in points (19) and rebounds (14) as she helped the Beach to a win over UCSB. Additionally, Hardy's 50.0 field goal percentage is tied for second in the Big West, while she is third in the league with an 84.0 free throw percentage. Hardy is also averaging 1.8 steals per game to rank ninth in the Big West.

She's Got it Down Pat
Freshman guard Patricia Chung earned her first collegiate start at UC San Diego and made the most of it as she scored a career-high 15 points in back-to-back games to lead the Beach to their eighth-straight victory. In her rookie season, Chung has averaged 9.6 points per game, 3.8 rebounds per game, while adding 16 assists, and 10 steals.

Ki Component
Kianna Hamilton-Fisher has been a key component to the Beach's success this season. After redshirting a year ago due to an injury, Hamilton-Fisher has come back in a big way. She is averaging 5.0 points per game, 3.5 rebounds, per game, and has totaled 14 steals, 13 assists, and two blocks on the year. She led the Beach in rebounding (8) and steals (3) at CSU Bakersfield, and posted a season-high 13 points at UC Riverside. With Hamilton-Fisher in the starting lineup, Long Beach State has gone 10-1 on the year.

Next Up
Long Beach State will hit the road as the Beach take on Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 19 and Saturday, Feb. 20. Both contests are set to tip-off at 2 p.m.