Wednesday, November 8
Long Beach, Calif.
6:00 PM
Long Beach State University
1-0,0-0Big West
82
vs
62
Biola
0-0,0-0PacWest
1
2
3
4
F
Biola
12
20
16
14
62
Long Beach St.
28
14
17
23
82
Photo by: John Fajardo
Tucker’s Career Night Lifts Long Beach State Over Biola, 82-62, In Season Opener
11/8/2023 9:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Beach flexed their depth getting all 12 players onto the court in Head Coach Amy Wright’s first career victory
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The Long Beach State Women's Basketball team kicked off the 2023-24 campaign and Head Coach Amy's Wright's debut with a big win on Wednesday night at the Walter Pyramid. Led by junior Savannah Tucker's career-high 25-point performance, the Beach rolled to an 82-62 victory over Biola.
The Beach (1-0) showed their depth getting every single player into the game. Long Beach State's bench scored a whopping 35 points, while the Beach defense held the Eagles to 12 points off the bench.
Tucker led the LBSU offense with 25 points as she connected on four triples. Everything was working for the Fresno, Calif., native as she finished the game with six boards, two assists, and a steal.
Sophomore guard Abby Shoff came off the bench for the Beach and turned in a quality performance as she narrowly missed a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Junior Patricia Chung was a key to Long Beach State's balanced offense as she distributed a career-best eight assists, while also contributing nine points, and seven rebounds.
The Beach got off to a quick 4-0 start and never looked back. Long Beach State led throughout the contest, despite Biola's efforts to stay withing striking distance. LBSU broke the game open in the first quarter as it went on a 9-0 run to take a 10-point (13-3) advantage with 6:33 remaining in the quarter. The Beach closed the frame on a 7-0 run as they held a 28-12 lead over the Eagles heading into the second quarter.
Biola scored six-straight points in the second quarter to cut the Beach's lead down to single-digits (33-24) by 5:58. However, Long Beach State continued its balanced style of play and went back up by double-figures (42-32) by halftime.
The Eagles came out strong in the second half and managed to cut Long Beach State's lead down to five (42-37) with 8:30 on the clock. The Beach, however, were unfazed. They continued to play their fast-paced style of basketball and went back up by 10 (48-38) at 6:07 after Sydney Woodley picked up an integral steal and ran it back for a layup. Long Beach State led by as many as 14 (59-45) in the third quarter after a layup by freshman Jada Crawshaw. The Beach seemed to be getting back into a groove as they took an 11-point lead (59-48) into the fourth quarter.
Long Beach State really seemed to find their rhythm in the fourth quarter as they surged ahead of the Eagles, outscoring them 23-14. Tucker reached her new career-high with a three at 7:56 to put LBSU on top 64-55. Shoff drove it to the basket for a layup at 7:00 which sparked a 14-0 Long Beach State run. During that span, Biola called two separate timeouts but was unable to stop the offensive surge from the Beach. LBSU led by as many as 22 points (78-56) after a fast break layup from Shoff capped the scoring run with 2:19 remaining. By then, the Beach were in complete control as they cruised to an 82-62 victory.
Biola was led by Natasa Radovic and Trasara Alexander who finished with 17 and 16 points, respectively. Radovic also added a team-best five rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
As a team, the Beach shot 48.5-percent from the field, while dishing out 21 assists. Long Beach State also led on the boards as it outrebounded Biola 49-28.
Long Beach State will be back in action on Sunday, Nov. 12 at 1 p.m. when the Beach hosts Nevada at the Walter Pyramid. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
The Beach (1-0) showed their depth getting every single player into the game. Long Beach State's bench scored a whopping 35 points, while the Beach defense held the Eagles to 12 points off the bench.
Tucker led the LBSU offense with 25 points as she connected on four triples. Everything was working for the Fresno, Calif., native as she finished the game with six boards, two assists, and a steal.
That's a new CAREER-HIGH for Savannah Tucker! 21 points and counting! #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/5UpW2sOymc
— LBSU W Basketball (@LBSUWBB) November 9, 2023
Sophomore guard Abby Shoff came off the bench for the Beach and turned in a quality performance as she narrowly missed a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Junior Patricia Chung was a key to Long Beach State's balanced offense as she distributed a career-best eight assists, while also contributing nine points, and seven rebounds.
The Beach got off to a quick 4-0 start and never looked back. Long Beach State led throughout the contest, despite Biola's efforts to stay withing striking distance. LBSU broke the game open in the first quarter as it went on a 9-0 run to take a 10-point (13-3) advantage with 6:33 remaining in the quarter. The Beach closed the frame on a 7-0 run as they held a 28-12 lead over the Eagles heading into the second quarter.
Biola scored six-straight points in the second quarter to cut the Beach's lead down to single-digits (33-24) by 5:58. However, Long Beach State continued its balanced style of play and went back up by double-figures (42-32) by halftime.
The Eagles came out strong in the second half and managed to cut Long Beach State's lead down to five (42-37) with 8:30 on the clock. The Beach, however, were unfazed. They continued to play their fast-paced style of basketball and went back up by 10 (48-38) at 6:07 after Sydney Woodley picked up an integral steal and ran it back for a layup. Long Beach State led by as many as 14 (59-45) in the third quarter after a layup by freshman Jada Crawshaw. The Beach seemed to be getting back into a groove as they took an 11-point lead (59-48) into the fourth quarter.
Sydney Woodley gets the steal and Savannah Tucker finishes off with the layup!??#GoBeach pic.twitter.com/HOnVIfeUsb
— LBSU W Basketball (@LBSUWBB) November 9, 2023
Long Beach State really seemed to find their rhythm in the fourth quarter as they surged ahead of the Eagles, outscoring them 23-14. Tucker reached her new career-high with a three at 7:56 to put LBSU on top 64-55. Shoff drove it to the basket for a layup at 7:00 which sparked a 14-0 Long Beach State run. During that span, Biola called two separate timeouts but was unable to stop the offensive surge from the Beach. LBSU led by as many as 22 points (78-56) after a fast break layup from Shoff capped the scoring run with 2:19 remaining. By then, the Beach were in complete control as they cruised to an 82-62 victory.
Biola was led by Natasa Radovic and Trasara Alexander who finished with 17 and 16 points, respectively. Radovic also added a team-best five rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
As a team, the Beach shot 48.5-percent from the field, while dishing out 21 assists. Long Beach State also led on the boards as it outrebounded Biola 49-28.
Long Beach State will be back in action on Sunday, Nov. 12 at 1 p.m. when the Beach hosts Nevada at the Walter Pyramid. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Team Stats
BIO
LBSU
FG%
.339
.485
3FG%
.276
.286
FT%
.800
.706
RB
28
49
TO
24
25
STL
12
12
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
10
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
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