Thursday, January 27
Long Beach, Calif.
7:00 PM

Long Beach State University

vs

UC Riverside

Jasmine Hardy
Photo by: John Fajardo

Long Beach State Women’s Basketball Hosts UC Riverside, UC Davis

1/26/2022 12:38:00 PM | Women's Basketball

The Beach have a pair of home games this week at the Walter Pyramid

GAME #15: LONG BEACH STATE vs. UC RIVERSIDE
Date:
Thursday, January 27
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Venue: Walter Pyramid
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Jason Schwartz & Bill Herenda
Twitter: @Beachwbb
Ticket Website: www.LongBeachState.com

GAME #16: LONG BEACH STATE vs. UC DAVIS
Date:
Saturday, January 29
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Venue: Walter Pyramid
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Jason Schwartz & Dave Miller
Twitter: @Beachwbb
Ticket Website: www.LongBeachState.com

COMPLETE LBSU GAME NOTES (PDF)

Long Beach State Women's Basketball Hosts UC Riverside, UC Davis
Beach Women's Basketball is gearing up for a pair of home contests this week as Long Beach State welcomes UC Riverside and UC Davis to the Walter Pyramid. The Beach and the Highlanders will face off on Thursday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m., and the Beach and the Aggies will meet on Saturday, Jan. 29 at 2 p.m.

Catch All The Action
Both 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
• Long Beach State has had two non-conference games canceled in December, and two Big West conference games canceled in January due to COVID-19 protocols. 

• Mask mandates remain in place in the Walter Pyramid and are anticipated to last throughout the season. Mask requirements will be upgraded to surgical, KN95 or N95 masks for all individuals aged 2 or older. Cloth masks, bandanas and neck gaiters will not be permitted. 

• Additionally, State of California regulations mandate all spectators for events inside the Walter Pyramid must provide either proof of vaccination (14+ days after last shot) or a negative COVID-19 test result (within 24 hours for a lab antigen test and 48 hours for a PCR test). 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 owns a 12-2 overall record and a 5-1 Big West Conference mark.
• The Beach went 2-0 last week with victories over UC San Diego (62-44) and UC Irvine (62-50)
• With their two conference wins last week, Long Beach State has now gained sole possession of first place in the Big West Conference standings
• Long Beach State owns a 6-0 record when playing inside the Walter Pyramid this season. 
• LBSU was chosen to finish fourth in the Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll and second in the league's preseason media poll.
• The Beach lead the Big West Conference in seven statistical categories. Long Beach State sets the standard in scoring defense (52.36), scoring margin (+11.57), field goal percentage (.417), assists per game (15.21), steals per game (13.57), turnover margin (+9.14), and assist/turnover ratio (1.13).
• A defensively strong team, Long Beach State ranks among the top teams in the nation in turnover margin and steals per game. The Beach are second in the country with a 9.14 turnover margin and fifth in the nation with 13.6 steals per game. Additionally, LBSU has forced its opponents into 22.64 turnovers per game to rank 11th in the NCAA, while the Beach's scoring defense of 52.4 ranks 11th in the nation. 
• Individually, senior forward Maddi Utti leads the Big West in steals per game with 3.62, which is good for fifth in the nation.
• LBSU has three players averaging double figures in Maddi Utti (12.7 ppg), Justina King (11.9 ppg), and Jasmine Hardy (10.1 ppg)
• Utti is also the team's rebounding leader with 8.9 boards per game. She also leads the squad with 47 steals and 15 blocks.
• King tied her career-high with nine assists in the win over CSU Bakersfield. She now leads the squad in assists with 67.
• 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.

Player Notes
Maddi Utti is Long Beach State's leading scorer with 12.7 points per game. She also leads the squad with 8.9 rebounds per game, 47 steals, and 15 blocks. This season, she has recorded three 20-point performances, led the Beach in scoring six times, registered four double-digit rebounding games, and has notched three double-doubles. She has also been named Big West Conference Player of the Week on two separate occasions.
Justina King is the Beach's second leading scorer with 11.9 points per game on the season. She also leads the team with 67 assists, while also contributing 2.8 rebounds per game, 34 steals, and three blocks. In her career, she has amassed 1,145 points to rank 17th all-time at Long Beach State.
Jasmine Hardy had a career-game against Seattle as she poured in a career-best 29 points on 11-of-14 made field goals and 7-of-9 made threes. She became just the fourth player in the Jeff Cammon era to reach at least 25 points in a game. This season she has led the Beach in scoring twice with six double-figure scoring performances. She is currently averaging 10.1 points per game.
Kianna Hamilton-Fisher has been an integral part of the Beach offense this season. She has come off the bench and averaged 8.9 points per game to go along with 2.4 rebounds per game, 28 steals, 19 assists, and four blocks. 
Ma'Qhi Berry has been a force on the court this season contributing on both sides of the ball. Offensively, she averages 8.6 points per game with 39 assists, to go along with 2.9 rebounds per game. On the defensive end, Berry owns eight blocks, while adding 22 steals.
Lauren Green has earned the start in 11-of-13 games this season and has played an important role on the court. Although her numbers aren't overpowering, Green is a play maker. She makes things happen for the Beach both offensively and defensively and is a key component to the squad's success.
• Freshman Savannah Tucker has also played an important role for the Beach as she recorded a career-high 10 points against Seattle. On the year, Tucker is averaging 2.8 points per game and 0.7 rebounds per game, while also contributing three steals, two assists, and one block.
Patricia Chung is another cog in the Long Beach State wheel of success as the freshman guard is averaging 2.4 points per game and 0.5 rebounds per game. The scrappy Chung has helped contribute to the Beach's solid defensive efforts with a pair of steals and her stout defending.
Kristyna Jeskeova is another key factor to the Beach's deep bench. At UC Santa Barbara, the sophomore forward tied her career-high with 12 points to go along with five rebounds. Jeskeova is now averaging 2.0 points per game and 4.0 rebounds per game.
Thea Mikkelsen came to the Beach all the way from Roskilde, Denmark and in her collegiate debut tallied 10 points against Biola. Since her 10-point showing in the season opener, Mikkelsen has averaged 2.0 points per game, 0.7 rebounds per game, while adding four assists, and two steals in 60 minutes of action.
Emily Sullivan has also been on the court in 11 games this season for a total of 55 minutes in which she has contributed 10 points, eight rebounds, and two steals.
Myrrah Joseph is averaging 4.8 points per game, 1.6 rebounds per game, while adding 12 assists, eight steals, and two blocks on the year as she has been a key reserve for Long Beach State this season.
Brandy Huffhines made her collegiate debut for the Beach in the season opener against Biola. She has since seen action against Seattle and Air Force. In three games, she has seen 21 minutes of action and is averaging 0.7 points per game and one steal.
• Redshirting for Long Beach State this season are freshmen Shelby Ray and Teodora Popovic.

Scouting UC Riverside
• UC Riverside brings a 5-6 overall record as well as a 2-2 Big West Conference record into the Walter Pyramid.
• The Highlanders went 2-0 last week picking up victories over CSUN (59-41) and UC Santa Barbara (55-42).
• As a team, UCR is shooting 39.0-percent from the field and averaging 64.5 points per game. 
• The Highlanders have limited opponents to 58.4 point per game and own a scoring margin of +6.2.
• Defensively, UCR averages 8.7 steals per game and 2.0 blocks per game.
• The Highlanders average 39.1 rebounds per game and 11.0 assists per game.
• UC Riverside has three scorers who average double-digits. Keilanei Cooper is the team's leading scorer with 16.2 points per game, while Jada Holland adds 10.8 points per game, and Olivia West contributes 10.0.
• Daphne Gnago leads the squad with 7.6 rebounds per game, while also adding 6.1 points per game, seven steals, seven blocks, and four assists.
• Holland is the team's leader in assists with 44. She also leads the squad with 17 steals.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Highlanders
Long Beach State and UC Riverside will meet for the 48th time in program history. The closely contested match up is led by the Highlanders 24-23, however the Beach has won the last two meetings.

Scouting UC Davis
• UC Davis is 8-6 on the year and 2-2 in Big West Conference action.
• The Aggies won both their games last week against UC Santa Barbara (61-49) and CSUN (48-41).
• UC Davis is averaging 59.6 points per game, while allowing 58.4 points per game for a scoring margin of +1.1.
• Defensively, the Aggies average 5.3 steals per game and 3.4 blocks per game.
• Cierra Hall is the Aggies' leading scorer with 13.9 points per game. She also leads the team with 8.1 rebounds per game, and 47 assists per game.
• Evanne Turner is the squad's second leading scorer with 10.7 points per game to go along with a lead-leading 19 steals. She also contributes 2.9 rebounds per game and 29 assists. 

The Series: The Beach vs. The Aggies
Long Beach State and UC Davis will face off for the 40th time in program history. The Aggies lead the all-time series 20-19 and have won the last two meetings as the Beach is looking for their first win over UC Davis since March 7, 2020 when LBSU earned a 66-57 win at the Walter Pyramid.

Defensively Strong
Long Beach State is a well-established defensive team that has led the Big West in steals multiple times over the last several seasons. This year the Beach are averaging a conference-leading 13.57 steals per game, which ranks them fifth in the nation. Long Beach State has forced their opponents into 22.64 turnovers per game, which is good for 11th in the nation. Leading the way for the Beach is Maddi Utti who owns a conference-leading 3.62 steals per game average, which ranks her fifth in the country. 

A Grand Time
Justina King became the 26th player in Long Beach State women's basketball history to record 1,000 points in her career. She reached the milestone on Nov. 13 at Boise State as she recorded 16 points in LBSU's 61-38 victory. King joins the elite company of All-Americans LaTaunya Pollard (3,001 career points), Cindy Brown (2,696 career points), Penny Toler (2,193 career points), and Kirsten Cummings (1,740 career points). Most recently, King moved up to 17th all-time with 1,145 career points.

Berry Good
Ma'Qhi Berry has been an integral part for the Beach as she has consistently contributed on both sides of the ball in her Long Beach State career. Most recently, Berry led the Beach as she tallied a season-high 15 points at UC Irvine. On the season, Berry is averaging 8.6 points per game and 2.9 rebounds per game, to go along with 39 assists, 22 steals, and eight blocks.

Hardy Makes it Look Easy
Junior Jasmine Hardy had a career-day as she led Long Beach State over Seattle with a career-high 29 point performance. Hardy was firing on all cylinders as she connected on 11-of-14 field goals to shoot an impressive 78.6-percent from the field. Seven of her 11 field goals were from three-point range as she went 7-for-9 from long distance for a hot 77.8-percentage from behind the arc. Hardy has now led the Beach in scoring twice this season and is averaging 10.1 points per game. She also adds 3.6 rebounds per game, as well as 15 assists, 18 steals, and eight blocks.

Mad(di) Skills
Senior forward Maddi Utti has been outstanding for the Beach all season as she has been twice named Big West Player of the Week. On the year, she is averaging 12.7 points per game and 8.9 rebounds per game. Her rebounding average is good for tops on the team and second in the Big West. She also leads the Beach with 47 steals and 15 blocks. 

Ki Component
Kianna Hamilton-Fisher has been a key component for the Beach as she has come off the bench and made an impact in each game thus far. Hamilton-Fisher is currently averaging 8.9 points per game and 2.4 rebounds per game to go along with 28 steals, 19 assists, and four blocks.

Next Up
Long Beach State hits the road next weekend as the Beach take on CSU Bakersfield on Thursday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m., before facing Cal Poly on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 2 p.m. 
 
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