Friday, February 26
Long Beach, Calif.
4:00 PM

Long Beach State University

vs

Hawaii

Savannah Tucker
Photo by: John Fajardo

Beach Women’s Basketball Returns Home to Host Hawai’i

2/25/2021 9:57:00 AM | Women's Basketball

The Beach and the Rainbow Wahine square off on Friday and Saturday at 4 p.m.

Game #17 / 18
Long Beach State vs. Hawai'i

Date:
Friday, Feb. 26 / Saturday, Feb. 27
Time: 4:00 p.m. / 4:00 p.m.
Arena: Walter Pyramid
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
Watch: Beach Vision
Talent: Nick Rice
Twitter: @BeachWBB

COMPLETE LBSU GAME NOTES (PDF)

Beach Women's Basketball Returns Home to Host Hawai'i
The Long Beach State women's basketball team is looking to snap a four-game losing skid this weekend as the Beach host Hawaii on Friday, Feb. 26 and Saturday, Feb. 27. Both games are set to tip-off at 4 p.m., inside the Walter Pyramid. Fans can catch all the action on the Beach Vision live stream.

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 is looking to snap a four-game losing streak this weekend after having dropped a pair of contests to UC Davis and Cal Poly as LBSU is now 11-5 on the year.
• The Beach now sit in third place in the Big West Conference standings with a 10-4 league record.
• LBSU boasts three players who are averaging double figures. Leading that group is Justina King with 13.5 points per game, while Jasmine Hardy and Naomi Hunt are tied for second on the squad with 10.4 points per game apiece.
• In addition to leading the Beach in scoring, King also leads the team with 58 assists. She tallied a new career-high nine in the final game of the series against UC Santa Barbara.
• Hardy is shooting 43.1 percent from the field and has made 30-of-35 free throws. Additionally, she contributes 5.8 rebounds per game to go along with 19 steals.
• Hunt leads the squad with 20 made three-point field goals. She has now amassed 130 three-point field goals in her career to rank fifth all-time at Long Beach State.
Kristyna Jeskeova has been on point for the Beach as she leads the team with 7.9 rebounds per game, 36 steals, and 13 blocks. Additionally, Jeskeova averages 4.9 points per game to go along with 20 assists.
• As a team, Long Beach State is shooting 39.2 percent from the field and averaging 61.9 points per game. The Beach has held their opponents to 56.9 points per game, which is tops in the league.
• 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 11.4 steals per game, while forcing opponents in to 18.3 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 Hawai'i
• Hawaii comes into the games at Long Beach State with a 5-6 overall record after having split the series at UC Santa Barbara two weeks ago.
• The Rainbow Wahine are 4-5 in the Big West which puts them in sixth place in the league standings.
• Jadynn Alexander (10.7 points per game), Daejah Phillips (10.5 ppg), and Amy Atwell (10.4 ppg) lead the 'Bows in scoring.
• Kasey Neubert is the team's leading rebounder as she averages 7.9 boards per game to go along with 8.5 points per game, 13 assists, five steals, and two blocks.
• Kelsie Imai has dished out a team-high 50 assists this season to lead the squad, while also contributing 5.5 points per game and 3.7 rebounds per game.
• In addition to being the team's second leading scorer, Phillips also leads the 'Bows with 10 steals, while averaging 5.3 rebounds per game, 16 assists, and four blocks.
• Overall, Hawaii is shooting 38.7 from the field and 29.3 from behind the arc, while averaging 61.6 points per game.
• The 'Bows average 40.3 rebounds per game, and have outrebounded their opponents by a margin of 6.2 this year.
• Defensively, the 'Bows have posted 2.5 blocks per game and are averaging 4.6 steals per game. 
• Hawaii has also allowed 63.3 points per game on 38.4 shooting this season.

The Series: The Beach vs. The 'Bows
Long Beach State and Hawaii will meet for the 42nd and 43rd times in program history. The tightly contested series is slightly in the 'Bows favor as they lead the all-time series 21-20. Last season, the two teams split the series as Long Beach State defeated Hawaii, 62-55, at the Walter Pyramid on Jan. 23, before the 'Bows handed the Beach a 68-44 loss on the island on Feb. 1.

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 11.4 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 36. Behind her are Justina King (32), and Ma'Qhi Berry (27). The trio are all ranked in the Top 10 in the Big West as Jeskeova in third (2.3 steals per game), King is in sixth (2.0 per game), and Berry is in ninth (1.9 per game).

King is Queen
Junior guard Justina King is the Beach's leading scorer with 13.5 points per game. She also leads Long Beach State with 58 assists. When playing against UC Santa Barbara, 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 3.6 assists per game which is good for 10th in league stats.

Hardy Makes it Look Easy
Junior Jasmine Hardy has tallied double-digit scoring performances, including back-to-back double-doubles against UCSB, in five of the last eight games. She registered new career-highs in points (19) and rebounds (14) as she helped the Beach to a win over UCSB. Additionally, Hardy is shooting 43.1 from the field and she is 30-for-35 from the charity stripe. Hardy is also averaging 2.8 offensive rebounds per game which is good for second in the Big West.

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 10 games thus far and has reached double-figures in seven games. Jeskeova has recorded two double-doubles on the year and also leads the Beach with 36 steals to average 2.3 per game, which is good for third in the conference.

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 2.8 rebounds per game. Berry has also totaled 30 assists and 27 steals. Her 1.9 steals per game rank her ninth in the Big West.

In the Hunt
Naomi Hunt is the Beach's leader in made three-pointers as she has amassed 20 thus far and has now accumulated 130 made threes in her career to take sole possession of fifth place all-time at Long Beach State. Although she is known for her sharp shooting from long distance, Hunt has also contributed in many other ways. In addition to averaging 10.4 points per game, Hunt also averages 4.1 rebounds per game, while registering 18 assists, 19 steals, and one block this season. 

She's Got it Down Pat
Freshman guard Patricia Chung earned her first collegiate start at UC San Diego on January 29 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- and ninth-straight victories. In her rookie season, Chung has averaged 7.4 points per game, 3.1 rebounds per game, while adding 16 assists, and 13 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. Against UC Davis, Hamilton-Fisher poured in a season-high 14 points as she made five field goals and connected on two three-pointers. She is averaging 5.1 points per game, 3.3 rebounds per game, and has totaled 19 steals, 15 assists, and two blocks on the year. 

Next Up
Long Beach State will close out the regular season at UC Irvine on Friday, March 5 and Saturday, March 6. The Beach and the Anteaters will tip-off at 4 p.m. on both days.

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