Friday, February 26
Long Beach, Calif.
4:00 PM
Long Beach State University
75
vs
77
Hawaii
Photo by: Joseph Kling
Beach Women’s Basketball Drops Heartbreaker to Hawai’i
2/26/2021 6:55:00 PM | Women's Basketball
King, Hunt and Berry all reach double-figures in competitive contest
Box Score (PDF)
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The Long Beach State women's basketball team suffered its fifth-straight loss in a hard-fought battle against Hawaii as the Beach fell in the final seconds by a score of 77-75 on Friday evening at the Walter Pyramid.
With the loss, the Beach drop to 11-6 overall and 10-5 in Big West action, while Hawaii evens its record at 6-6 on the year and 5-5 in league play.
The Beach and the Rainbow Wahine played each other tough in the competitive contest which saw 20 lead changes and 12 ties. LBSU shot 40.8 percent in the game, while Hawaii posted a 47.3 shooting percentage. The difference, however, was made under the glass as the 'Bows outrebounded the Beach 41-31. Additionally, Long Beach State committed 19 fouls to Hawaii's 11 as the 'Bow made 18 free throws, while the Beach connected on nine.
Naomi Hunt and Justina King led the offensive charge as they each tallied 18 points, while Ma'Qhi Berry added 16 of her own. Hunt and Berry also led the squad in rebounding with half a dozen each, while Berry added seven assists and King contributed six helpers of her own. Berry and King also combined for eight of LBSU's 11 total steals as they collected four apiece.
While the Beach played a solid game, Hawaii did as well. Amy Atwell led all scorers with 25 points, while Nnenna Orji and Daejah Phillips also reached double digits with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Atwell was just one rebound shy of a double-double, while Kasey Neubert led the 'Bows with 11 boards.
The second quarter saw Hawaii break away and use an 11-0 run to take its largest lead of the game (34-27) before Hunt's layup with two seconds left of the clock made it a five-point game (34-29) at halftime.
Long Beach State rattled off seven-straight points in the third quarter highlighted by a spin move layup by Berry followed by a triple to put the Beach up 40-39. However, the lead was short-lived as Hawaii used its own run to go back up and take a four-point lead (57-53) into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter went down to the wire as Long Beach State found themselves down by two (77-75) with 1:07 remaining. After Atwell missed both free throws, things looked to be going the Beach's way, but a missed hook shot by Kianna Hamilton-Fisher with 50 seconds remaining saw Atwell get the rebound and take it back to the other end of the court. However, she missed both attempts at a layup giving King a chance to even the score with eight ticks left on the clock.
King's layup missed and Jasmine Hardy fouled Jadynn Alexander to regain possession with 5.6 seconds left. Things, once again, looked good for LBSU as Alexander also missed both free throws. The Beach got King into the paint and she tossed it up for a layup that just missed as the clock expired.
Long Beach State and Hawaii will conclude the series on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 4 p.m., at the Walter Pyramid.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The Long Beach State women's basketball team suffered its fifth-straight loss in a hard-fought battle against Hawaii as the Beach fell in the final seconds by a score of 77-75 on Friday evening at the Walter Pyramid.
With the loss, the Beach drop to 11-6 overall and 10-5 in Big West action, while Hawaii evens its record at 6-6 on the year and 5-5 in league play.
The Beach and the Rainbow Wahine played each other tough in the competitive contest which saw 20 lead changes and 12 ties. LBSU shot 40.8 percent in the game, while Hawaii posted a 47.3 shooting percentage. The difference, however, was made under the glass as the 'Bows outrebounded the Beach 41-31. Additionally, Long Beach State committed 19 fouls to Hawaii's 11 as the 'Bow made 18 free throws, while the Beach connected on nine.
Naomi Hunt and Justina King led the offensive charge as they each tallied 18 points, while Ma'Qhi Berry added 16 of her own. Hunt and Berry also led the squad in rebounding with half a dozen each, while Berry added seven assists and King contributed six helpers of her own. Berry and King also combined for eight of LBSU's 11 total steals as they collected four apiece.
While the Beach played a solid game, Hawaii did as well. Amy Atwell led all scorers with 25 points, while Nnenna Orji and Daejah Phillips also reached double digits with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Atwell was just one rebound shy of a double-double, while Kasey Neubert led the 'Bows with 11 boards.
The second quarter saw Hawaii break away and use an 11-0 run to take its largest lead of the game (34-27) before Hunt's layup with two seconds left of the clock made it a five-point game (34-29) at halftime.
Long Beach State rattled off seven-straight points in the third quarter highlighted by a spin move layup by Berry followed by a triple to put the Beach up 40-39. However, the lead was short-lived as Hawaii used its own run to go back up and take a four-point lead (57-53) into the final quarter.
Ma'Qhi Berry with the moves!!! #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/BVezYxZRuF
— LBSU W Basketball (@beachwbb) February 27, 2021
The fourth quarter went down to the wire as Long Beach State found themselves down by two (77-75) with 1:07 remaining. After Atwell missed both free throws, things looked to be going the Beach's way, but a missed hook shot by Kianna Hamilton-Fisher with 50 seconds remaining saw Atwell get the rebound and take it back to the other end of the court. However, she missed both attempts at a layup giving King a chance to even the score with eight ticks left on the clock.
King's layup missed and Jasmine Hardy fouled Jadynn Alexander to regain possession with 5.6 seconds left. Things, once again, looked good for LBSU as Alexander also missed both free throws. The Beach got King into the paint and she tossed it up for a layup that just missed as the clock expired.
Long Beach State and Hawaii will conclude the series on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 4 p.m., at the Walter Pyramid.
Players Mentioned
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