Long Beach State Drops Tough Contest to Southern Miss

Saturday, December 17

Long Beach, Calif.

3:30 PM

Long Beach State University

5-4,0-0Big West

Southern Miss

7-4,0-0Sun Belt

Southern Miss.

Long Beach St.

Photo by: ©John Fajardo Photography

12/17/2022 6:23:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

Kristyna Jeskeova was named to the Beach Classic All-Tournament Team after recording a double-double with a career-high 21 points

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

Box Score (PDF) | Photo Gallery

LONG BEACH, Calif. – The final game of the Beach Classic was a low-scoring affair that ended with Long Beach State coming up short in a 56-50 loss to Southern Miss on Saturday at the Walter Pyramid.

Both teams started out slow, but Southern Miss (7-4) was able to pick things up in the fourth quarter, while the Beach (5-4) struggled offensively shooting 35.8-percent from the field. The Lady Eagles outrebounded LBSU (41-31), while also holding the advantage in steals (9-7). Meanwhile the Beach led the way in assists (9-8) and blocks (3-0).

Junior guard Kristyna Jeskeova was named to the Beach Classic All-Tournament Team after finishing with a double-double, her second in as many games. She poured in a career-high 21 points to go along with 10 rebounds to lead the Beach.

Joining Jeskeova in double-digits were senior guard Tori Harris (13 points) and senior guard Malia Bambrick (10 points).

Ma'Qhi Berry was consistent with six rebounds, four steals, two blocks, and one steal in another efficient outing for the senior.

The game got off to a slow start with neither team making a field goal until USM drained a three at 5:58. From there, the Lady Eagles went on a 7-0 run to take an 8-1 advantage over the Beach. LBSU managed to cut Southern Miss' lead down to two (9-7) by the end of the first quarter.

Long Beach State took its first lead of the game on a fast break layup from Kianna Hamilton-Fisher to put the Beach up 11-9. Hamilton-Fisher's layup came in the early part of a 9-0 Long Beach run that saw the Beach take a 16-9 lead over the Lady Eagles. LBSU led the rest of the frame as they took a 26-20 lead over Southern Miss into halftime.

@LBSUWBB takes its first lead of the game thanks to Kianna Hamilton-Fisher on a pass from Kristyna Jeskeova #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/9q7X7KdRpu
— LBSU W Basketball (@LBSUWBB) December 18, 2022

The Beach came out of the break and shot 50.0-percent (5-for-10) from the field as Jeskeova scored seven points in the frame. However, the Lady Eagles stayed close with LBSU and cut the Beach's lead down to five (39-34) heading into the fourth quarter.

Southern Miss hit their stride in the final 10 minutes of action as the Lady Eagles shot 46.7-percent from the field and held LBSU to 25.0-percent shooting. The Lady Eagles received a solid performance from Domonique Davis who scored eight points in the final frame to bring her total to 20, as USM outscored the Beach 22-11 in the fourth quarter to defeat Long Beach by six (56-50).

Davis led the Lady Eagles with 20 points en route to being named to the Beach Classic All-Tournament Team. Lani Cornfield added 13 points, Femi Funeus posted 10 rebounds.

Long Beach State will close out the non-conference portion of the season on Wednesday, Dec. 21 at No. 18 Baylor. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. (PT). The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.