Saturday, December 16
Long Beach, Calif.
5:00 PM
Long Beach State University
vs
Pacific
Photo by: John Fajardo
LBSU Women’s Basketball Faces Pacific On The Final Day Of The Beach Classic
12/16/2023 9:30:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Long Beach State hosts Pacific on Saturday at 5 p.m.
LONG BEACH STATE (4-3) vs. PACIFIC (6-4)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 16
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Venue: Walter Pyramid
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Jason Schwartz & Victoria Dennis
Radio: 22 West Radio
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
Twitter: @LBSUWBB
LBSU Women's Basketball Faces Pacific On The Final Day Of The Beach Classic
The Long Beach State Women's Basketball team hosts the University of the Pacific at the Walter Pyramid on Saturday, December 16 at 5 p.m., in the first of two Beach Classic games on the final day of the tournament. The second contest of the day will feature Big West foe UC Irvine and Colorado State at 7 p.m.
Catch All the Action
All Long Beach State home games will be broadcast live on ESPN+. The UCI-Colorado State game will not be streamed. However, fans can follow the action on BeachLiveStats.com.
Fans can sign up for ESPN+ for $9.99 per month ($99.99 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 $14.99 per month (Hulu with ads) or $24.99 per month (Hulu without ads).
Staying Social
Follow Long Beach State women's basketball on Twitter and Instagram at
@LBSUWBB. 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.
In The Rankings
• Long Beach State is 4-3 on the year and is not currently ranked in the AP Poll, the USA Today/WBCA Poll, or the Women's Mid-Major Top 25 Poll.
• Colorado State moved to 8-1 on the year after dropping a 77-76 contest at Long Beach State to open the Beach Classic. The Rams are recieveing votes in the AP Poll.
• Pacific brings a 6-4 record into the Beach Classic. The Tigers are not currently ranked in the AP Poll, the USA Today/WBCA Poll, or the Women's Mid-Major Top 25 Poll.
• UC Irvine comes into the Beach Classic with a 6-3 record. The Anteaters are not ranked in the AP Poll or the USA Today/WBCA Poll. However, they are receiving votes in the Women's Mid-Major Top 25 Poll.
About the Beach
• Long Beach State brings a 4-3 overall record into the contest against the University of the Pacific.
• LBSU is coming off of an exciting come-from-behind victory against Colorado State, 77-76, The Beach earned their first-ever victory over the Rams to open the Beach Classic. The win for Long Beach marked the first loss of the year for Colorado State.
• The Beach opened the 2023-24 campaign with an 82-62 victory over Biola marking the first of Head Coach Amy Wright's collegiate coaching career.
• Wright's team is expected to bring "Fast, Furious, Fun" to the Beach as the team will showcase a fast offense, a furious defense, and a lot of fun both on and off the court.
• LBSU has three double-figure scorers in Savannah Tucker (14.3 ppg), Cheyenne Givens (12.0 ppg), and Sydney Woodley (10.1 ppg).
• Tucker is the Beach's leading scorer as she averages 14.3 points per game on a 44.0 field goal percentage (33-75). She also adds 4.3 rebounds per game, while chipping in 11 assists and eight steals.
• Givens is Long Beach State's second-leading scorer with 12.0 points per game on a 47.7 field goal percentage (31-65). In addition, Givens is averaging 2.3 rebounds per game to go along with 11 steals, 11 assists, and three blocks.
• Redshirt sophomore Sydney Woodley leads the Beach in steals with 22 over the last seven games, including a career-high tying seven swipes last night against Colorado State. Additionally, she contributes 10.1 points per game and 4.1 rebounds per game.
• Sophomore Abby Shoff leads the Beach in rebounding with 4.8 boards per game. She also contributes 7.8 points per game, while adding six assists, two steals, and one block. However, she unavailable tonight due to an injury to her foot.
• Junior Patricia Chung was incredible in the season opener as she dished out a career-high eight assists, while also logging nine points and seven rebounds. Since then, Chung has settled in to averaging 7.0 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per game, while still leading the team with 19 assists. Chung is coming off of a career-high night against Colorado State in which she led all rebounders with 10 boards.
• Joining Coach Wright on the bench this season is a brand new coaching staff comprised of Brian Rosario, Jashae Lee, and Raru Archer, while Brittany Klaman will be the squad's director of operations.
• The Beach have been picked to finish seventh in the Big West Preseason Coaches Poll with a total of 45 points. Hawaii, which garnered 95 points and six first-place votes was chosen as the league winner. Meanwhile UC Irvine (88 points, two first-place votes) and UC Davis (85 points, three first-place votes) were expected to finish second and third to round out the top three.
Player Notes
• Lauren Cummings is an incoming freshman guard who hails from Billings, Mont. The 6-foot Cummings made her collegiate debut in the season opener against Biola and recorded her first career rebound. Since then, she has seen limited action coming in off the bench in five games and playing in just over 11 minutes of action.
• Lovely Sonnier came to the Beach after playing two years at South Carolina State. The junior guard has started in all seven games for LBSU thus far. On the year, she is averaging 4.3 points per game and 3.3 rebounds per game, while also adding eight assists, six steals, and three blocks.
• Junior guard Savannah Tucker is Long Beach State's leading scorer as she is averaging 14.3 points per game on a 44.0 field goal percentage (33-75). She also adds 30 boards, 11 assists, and eight steals.
• Patricia Chung is Long Beach State's leader in assists as the junior guard has dished out 19 on the year. Additionally, she is averaging 7.0 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per game.
• Cheyenne Givens is a graduate transfer who has been heating up offensively. She is coming off of a career-high 19-point performance against Colorado State on Friday night. Givens is the team's second leading scorer as she averages 12.0 points per game, while adding 2.3 rebounds per game, and totaling 11 steals, 11 assists, and three blocks.
• Kennan Ka earned the start in the Long Beach State season opener against Biola and played in two minutes and 30 seconds before leaving the court due to a season-ending injury.
• After redshirting for the Beach a year ago, Casey Valenti Paea made her long awaited LBSU debut against Biola and earned her first start in Black and Gold against Nevada. She turned in a career-best performance with 15 points versus Colorado State on Friday night to bring her points per game average up to 7.0. She also contributes 2.7 rebounds per game, to go along with 14 assists and 10 steals.
• Jada Crawshaw, a freshman from Sydney, Australia, made her collegiate debut in the LBSU season opener against Biola on Nov. 8. She has since averaged 6.6 points per game and 4.7 rebounds per game, while also chipping in five blocks, five assists, and four steals.
• Sophomore forward Abby Shoff has come off the bench in 6-of-7 of Long Beach's games this season and is leading the Beach in rebounding (4.8). However, she will be unavailable tonight due to an injury to her foot.
• Sydney Woodley has started in all seven games for Long Beach State. She is the Beach's leader in steals with 22 swipes after tying her career-high (7) against Colorado State on Friday night. Woodley had a solid performance against the Rams as she also set a new career-high in points (19). She is now averaging 10.1 points points per game and 4.1 rebounds per game, to go along with seven assists.
• Olivia Moore redshirted last season at Long Beach State and made her collegiate debut for the Beach in the season opener against Biola. On the year she is averaging 1.2 points per game and 0.7 rebounds per game, while totaling two assists, one steal, and one block in just over 34 minutes played.
• Davai Matthews came back to Long Beach State after seeing limited action last year due to an injury. In seven games thus far, she has become the team's leader in blocker with nine on the year. Additionally, Matthews contributes 3.9 rebounds per game and 2.6 points per game.
Scouting Pacific
• Pacific brings a 6-4 overall record into the Beach Classic.
• The Tigers are coming off of a 72-61 victory over UC Santa Barbara last Friday.
• Against Big West competition this season, the Tigers are 3-1, with their lone loss coming at the hands of UC Irvine, 66-60, back on Nov. 25.
• As a team, the Tigers are averaging 68.9 points per game, while allowing 69.4.
• From the field, Pacific is shooting 41.8 percent to go along with 36.7 rebounds per game. Additionally, the Tigers average 16.0 assists, 17.1 turnovers, 5.9 steals, and 3.2 blocks per game this season.
• The Tigers boast four double-figure scorers in Liz Smith (15/4 ppg), Elizabeth Elliott (13/7 ppg), Anaya James (11.7 ppg), and Kadie Deaton (11.2 ppg)
• Elliott is the team's leading rebounder with 6.8 boards per game. She also contributes nine assists, seven steals, and six blocks.
• James is the team's leader in both assists (46) and steals (11). She averages 5.2 rebounds per game and has put up three blocks on the year.
• Sydney Ward has played in all 10 contests for the Tigers and has made five starts. She is the team's leading blocker with seven to go along with 34 rebounds, 17 points, 11 assists, and eight steals.
The Series: The Beach vs. The Tigers
Long Beach State and Pacific will meet for the 65th time in program history and for the first time since 2016. In a series that dates back to 1986, the Beach leads the all-time series 40-24. When playing each other in Long Beach, Calif., LBSU leads the way with a 24-8 record. The Beach have won the last three contests against the Tigers as Pacific is looking for its first win over Long Beach since 2013 when they defeated the Beach, 59-53 on February 28. LBSU, meanwhile, last earned a win over the Tigers on December 7, 2016 when they downed Pacific, 66-68, at the Walter Pyramid.
Fast, Furious, and Fun
When asked what to expect from the Beach this season, sophomore forward Abby Shoff responded, "Fast, furious, and fun! That's really what we are. We're very energized. You can tell we're having a lot of fun out there."
Coach Wright expanded saying, "(The fans) should expect games in the 80s and 90s. A lot of threes going up. A lot of quick buckets. Playing fast is us trying to score between 8-12 seconds on the shot clock. So, we want to get the ball up and take a really good shot. We want to share the basketball.
"Furious is defensively, we want to get after you," Wright continued. "We want to create havoc on that end. We've got to have a chip on our shoulder. Not necessarily playing mad, but playing hectic. Playing with intentionality of being disruptive.
"And finally, fun explains itself. This is a game. The players should be having fun. The coaches should be having fun. The fans should be having fun. If we're playing the game the right way, it's going to be fun."
The Beach Classic
Long Beach State Women's Basketball has been hosting the Beach Classic since 1998-99 and overall, LBSU owns a 19-10 record. The tournament was played for five years, then was started up again during the 2010-11 season and was played every year, with the exception of 2016-17, until the 2018-19 season. Last year, the Beach Classic resumed. With a 77-76 win over Colorado State on Friday night, Long Beach State is looking to win both games of the Beach Classic for the first time since 2015-16, when they defeated UTEP, 47-40, and UNLV, 67-63.
Twenty Spot
Junior guard Savannah Tucker wasted no time dropping 20 points as she kicked off the 2023-24 season scoring a career-high 25 points against Biola. Just last week at No. 5 Texas, Tucker went off again for 22 points to lead all scorers. The performance marked the third 20-plus point showing of her career as she previously dropped 20 at UC Riverside on March 5, 2022 during her freshman campaign. Now as a junior, Tucker has started in every game thus far and is the Beach's leading scorer with 14.3 points per game.
Do You Need Some Assistance?
Junior guard Patricia Chung opened the 2023-24 campaign setting a new career-high as she dished out eight assists against Biola on November 8. She has since racked up 19 helpers to average 3.0 assists per game to rank eighth in The Big West. In addition, Chung also contributes 7.0 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per game, to go along with three steals.
Block Party
After playing in just two games last year, before her season was cut short due to injury, sophomore Davai Matthews has come back stronger than ever. The Detroit, Mich., native posted a career-high six blocks at Fresno State to bring her season total to nine. She is now third in The Big West with 1.5 blocks per game. Additionally, Matthews is chipping in 3.9 rebounds per game and 2.0 points per game on the year.
The Aussie Connection
Despite their being an 8,150-mile distance between Long Beach, Calif., and Australia, there is an Aussie connection at the Beach. Last season, when junior guard Casey Valenti Paea joined the squad from Melbourne, Australia by way of the University at Buffalo, she was the only one on the roster from Down Under. However, this season two more Aussies have joined her on the team in freshman forward Jada Crawshaw and director of operations Brittany Klaman.
Crawshaw hails from Sydney where she prepped at Barker College. She also gained experience playing for the Sydney Comets and the Sydney Flames. A a naturally gifted player, Crawshaw went on to be selected to the All-Australia Team and earned a spot on the U19 Aus Gems squad where she competed at the Centre of Excellence on one of four junior national team camps.
Klaman is originally from Point Cook in Melbourne where she played at Williamstown High School before heading to the United States for her collegiate career. In college, Klaman played at Eastern Washington and California Baptist, before joining the Long Beach State staff.
Team Identity
LB Grit has been long associated with the Long Beach State Men's Volleyball program. However, when asked to describe her team's identity, Coach Wright was quick to say, "Gritty. Scrappy. Chippy." She went on to explain that her current team is filled with physical players who "get in there and tangle up, and talk their talk." Wright likes the hard-nosed, blue collar style of play her team has on the court. "Those three words explain the personality of this team. And you've got to be that way. If you're going to be running fast, shooting these shots, and guarding hard, you've got to play with a little chip on your shoulder."
Pack The Pyramid
Long Beach State Women's Basketball is looking to Pack the Pyramid this year and set new attendance records inside the 'Mid. This year's staff and players are excited for the new team look, new style of play, and all around brand new identity. Junior guard Savannah Tucker thinks the Beach fans "can expect to see us get up and down the court, have lots of energy, and just get out there and have fun. It's a fun game to play and it's going to be a fun game to watch."
Adding to that, sophomore forward Abby Shoff said, "I feel like we're gelling great. We have a true sisterhood. It's a real family-like atmosphere. I'm very grateful. I'm looking forward to creating new memories with this team. I think we'll have a great season!"
Wright wants fans to Pack the Pyramid all season long. "Come out and see us play. Give us a chance. I understand there's a lot going on in this area, but I promise you, you will be entertained. You will want to be a part of what we're building here at Long Beach State."
Next Up
Following the Beach Classic, Long Beach State will welcome San Francisco to the Walter Pyramid on Tuesday, Dec. 19 at 4 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Date: Saturday, Dec. 16
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Venue: Walter Pyramid
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Jason Schwartz & Victoria Dennis
Radio: 22 West Radio
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
Twitter: @LBSUWBB
LBSU Women's Basketball Faces Pacific On The Final Day Of The Beach Classic
The Long Beach State Women's Basketball team hosts the University of the Pacific at the Walter Pyramid on Saturday, December 16 at 5 p.m., in the first of two Beach Classic games on the final day of the tournament. The second contest of the day will feature Big West foe UC Irvine and Colorado State at 7 p.m.
Catch All the Action
All Long Beach State home games will be broadcast live on ESPN+. The UCI-Colorado State game will not be streamed. However, fans can follow the action on BeachLiveStats.com.
Fans can sign up for ESPN+ for $9.99 per month ($99.99 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 $14.99 per month (Hulu with ads) or $24.99 per month (Hulu without ads).
Staying Social
Follow Long Beach State women's basketball on Twitter and Instagram at
@LBSUWBB. 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.
In The Rankings
• Long Beach State is 4-3 on the year and is not currently ranked in the AP Poll, the USA Today/WBCA Poll, or the Women's Mid-Major Top 25 Poll.
• Colorado State moved to 8-1 on the year after dropping a 77-76 contest at Long Beach State to open the Beach Classic. The Rams are recieveing votes in the AP Poll.
• Pacific brings a 6-4 record into the Beach Classic. The Tigers are not currently ranked in the AP Poll, the USA Today/WBCA Poll, or the Women's Mid-Major Top 25 Poll.
• UC Irvine comes into the Beach Classic with a 6-3 record. The Anteaters are not ranked in the AP Poll or the USA Today/WBCA Poll. However, they are receiving votes in the Women's Mid-Major Top 25 Poll.
About the Beach
• Long Beach State brings a 4-3 overall record into the contest against the University of the Pacific.
• LBSU is coming off of an exciting come-from-behind victory against Colorado State, 77-76, The Beach earned their first-ever victory over the Rams to open the Beach Classic. The win for Long Beach marked the first loss of the year for Colorado State.
• The Beach opened the 2023-24 campaign with an 82-62 victory over Biola marking the first of Head Coach Amy Wright's collegiate coaching career.
• Wright's team is expected to bring "Fast, Furious, Fun" to the Beach as the team will showcase a fast offense, a furious defense, and a lot of fun both on and off the court.
• LBSU has three double-figure scorers in Savannah Tucker (14.3 ppg), Cheyenne Givens (12.0 ppg), and Sydney Woodley (10.1 ppg).
• Tucker is the Beach's leading scorer as she averages 14.3 points per game on a 44.0 field goal percentage (33-75). She also adds 4.3 rebounds per game, while chipping in 11 assists and eight steals.
• Givens is Long Beach State's second-leading scorer with 12.0 points per game on a 47.7 field goal percentage (31-65). In addition, Givens is averaging 2.3 rebounds per game to go along with 11 steals, 11 assists, and three blocks.
• Redshirt sophomore Sydney Woodley leads the Beach in steals with 22 over the last seven games, including a career-high tying seven swipes last night against Colorado State. Additionally, she contributes 10.1 points per game and 4.1 rebounds per game.
• Sophomore Abby Shoff leads the Beach in rebounding with 4.8 boards per game. She also contributes 7.8 points per game, while adding six assists, two steals, and one block. However, she unavailable tonight due to an injury to her foot.
• Junior Patricia Chung was incredible in the season opener as she dished out a career-high eight assists, while also logging nine points and seven rebounds. Since then, Chung has settled in to averaging 7.0 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per game, while still leading the team with 19 assists. Chung is coming off of a career-high night against Colorado State in which she led all rebounders with 10 boards.
• Joining Coach Wright on the bench this season is a brand new coaching staff comprised of Brian Rosario, Jashae Lee, and Raru Archer, while Brittany Klaman will be the squad's director of operations.
• The Beach have been picked to finish seventh in the Big West Preseason Coaches Poll with a total of 45 points. Hawaii, which garnered 95 points and six first-place votes was chosen as the league winner. Meanwhile UC Irvine (88 points, two first-place votes) and UC Davis (85 points, three first-place votes) were expected to finish second and third to round out the top three.
Player Notes
• Lauren Cummings is an incoming freshman guard who hails from Billings, Mont. The 6-foot Cummings made her collegiate debut in the season opener against Biola and recorded her first career rebound. Since then, she has seen limited action coming in off the bench in five games and playing in just over 11 minutes of action.
• Lovely Sonnier came to the Beach after playing two years at South Carolina State. The junior guard has started in all seven games for LBSU thus far. On the year, she is averaging 4.3 points per game and 3.3 rebounds per game, while also adding eight assists, six steals, and three blocks.
• Junior guard Savannah Tucker is Long Beach State's leading scorer as she is averaging 14.3 points per game on a 44.0 field goal percentage (33-75). She also adds 30 boards, 11 assists, and eight steals.
• Patricia Chung is Long Beach State's leader in assists as the junior guard has dished out 19 on the year. Additionally, she is averaging 7.0 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per game.
• Cheyenne Givens is a graduate transfer who has been heating up offensively. She is coming off of a career-high 19-point performance against Colorado State on Friday night. Givens is the team's second leading scorer as she averages 12.0 points per game, while adding 2.3 rebounds per game, and totaling 11 steals, 11 assists, and three blocks.
• Kennan Ka earned the start in the Long Beach State season opener against Biola and played in two minutes and 30 seconds before leaving the court due to a season-ending injury.
• After redshirting for the Beach a year ago, Casey Valenti Paea made her long awaited LBSU debut against Biola and earned her first start in Black and Gold against Nevada. She turned in a career-best performance with 15 points versus Colorado State on Friday night to bring her points per game average up to 7.0. She also contributes 2.7 rebounds per game, to go along with 14 assists and 10 steals.
• Jada Crawshaw, a freshman from Sydney, Australia, made her collegiate debut in the LBSU season opener against Biola on Nov. 8. She has since averaged 6.6 points per game and 4.7 rebounds per game, while also chipping in five blocks, five assists, and four steals.
• Sophomore forward Abby Shoff has come off the bench in 6-of-7 of Long Beach's games this season and is leading the Beach in rebounding (4.8). However, she will be unavailable tonight due to an injury to her foot.
• Sydney Woodley has started in all seven games for Long Beach State. She is the Beach's leader in steals with 22 swipes after tying her career-high (7) against Colorado State on Friday night. Woodley had a solid performance against the Rams as she also set a new career-high in points (19). She is now averaging 10.1 points points per game and 4.1 rebounds per game, to go along with seven assists.
• Olivia Moore redshirted last season at Long Beach State and made her collegiate debut for the Beach in the season opener against Biola. On the year she is averaging 1.2 points per game and 0.7 rebounds per game, while totaling two assists, one steal, and one block in just over 34 minutes played.
• Davai Matthews came back to Long Beach State after seeing limited action last year due to an injury. In seven games thus far, she has become the team's leader in blocker with nine on the year. Additionally, Matthews contributes 3.9 rebounds per game and 2.6 points per game.
Scouting Pacific
• Pacific brings a 6-4 overall record into the Beach Classic.
• The Tigers are coming off of a 72-61 victory over UC Santa Barbara last Friday.
• Against Big West competition this season, the Tigers are 3-1, with their lone loss coming at the hands of UC Irvine, 66-60, back on Nov. 25.
• As a team, the Tigers are averaging 68.9 points per game, while allowing 69.4.
• From the field, Pacific is shooting 41.8 percent to go along with 36.7 rebounds per game. Additionally, the Tigers average 16.0 assists, 17.1 turnovers, 5.9 steals, and 3.2 blocks per game this season.
• The Tigers boast four double-figure scorers in Liz Smith (15/4 ppg), Elizabeth Elliott (13/7 ppg), Anaya James (11.7 ppg), and Kadie Deaton (11.2 ppg)
• Elliott is the team's leading rebounder with 6.8 boards per game. She also contributes nine assists, seven steals, and six blocks.
• James is the team's leader in both assists (46) and steals (11). She averages 5.2 rebounds per game and has put up three blocks on the year.
• Sydney Ward has played in all 10 contests for the Tigers and has made five starts. She is the team's leading blocker with seven to go along with 34 rebounds, 17 points, 11 assists, and eight steals.
The Series: The Beach vs. The Tigers
Long Beach State and Pacific will meet for the 65th time in program history and for the first time since 2016. In a series that dates back to 1986, the Beach leads the all-time series 40-24. When playing each other in Long Beach, Calif., LBSU leads the way with a 24-8 record. The Beach have won the last three contests against the Tigers as Pacific is looking for its first win over Long Beach since 2013 when they defeated the Beach, 59-53 on February 28. LBSU, meanwhile, last earned a win over the Tigers on December 7, 2016 when they downed Pacific, 66-68, at the Walter Pyramid.
Fast, Furious, and Fun
When asked what to expect from the Beach this season, sophomore forward Abby Shoff responded, "Fast, furious, and fun! That's really what we are. We're very energized. You can tell we're having a lot of fun out there."
Coach Wright expanded saying, "(The fans) should expect games in the 80s and 90s. A lot of threes going up. A lot of quick buckets. Playing fast is us trying to score between 8-12 seconds on the shot clock. So, we want to get the ball up and take a really good shot. We want to share the basketball.
"Furious is defensively, we want to get after you," Wright continued. "We want to create havoc on that end. We've got to have a chip on our shoulder. Not necessarily playing mad, but playing hectic. Playing with intentionality of being disruptive.
"And finally, fun explains itself. This is a game. The players should be having fun. The coaches should be having fun. The fans should be having fun. If we're playing the game the right way, it's going to be fun."
The Beach Classic
Long Beach State Women's Basketball has been hosting the Beach Classic since 1998-99 and overall, LBSU owns a 19-10 record. The tournament was played for five years, then was started up again during the 2010-11 season and was played every year, with the exception of 2016-17, until the 2018-19 season. Last year, the Beach Classic resumed. With a 77-76 win over Colorado State on Friday night, Long Beach State is looking to win both games of the Beach Classic for the first time since 2015-16, when they defeated UTEP, 47-40, and UNLV, 67-63.
Twenty Spot
Junior guard Savannah Tucker wasted no time dropping 20 points as she kicked off the 2023-24 season scoring a career-high 25 points against Biola. Just last week at No. 5 Texas, Tucker went off again for 22 points to lead all scorers. The performance marked the third 20-plus point showing of her career as she previously dropped 20 at UC Riverside on March 5, 2022 during her freshman campaign. Now as a junior, Tucker has started in every game thus far and is the Beach's leading scorer with 14.3 points per game.
Do You Need Some Assistance?
Junior guard Patricia Chung opened the 2023-24 campaign setting a new career-high as she dished out eight assists against Biola on November 8. She has since racked up 19 helpers to average 3.0 assists per game to rank eighth in The Big West. In addition, Chung also contributes 7.0 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per game, to go along with three steals.
Block Party
After playing in just two games last year, before her season was cut short due to injury, sophomore Davai Matthews has come back stronger than ever. The Detroit, Mich., native posted a career-high six blocks at Fresno State to bring her season total to nine. She is now third in The Big West with 1.5 blocks per game. Additionally, Matthews is chipping in 3.9 rebounds per game and 2.0 points per game on the year.
The Aussie Connection
Despite their being an 8,150-mile distance between Long Beach, Calif., and Australia, there is an Aussie connection at the Beach. Last season, when junior guard Casey Valenti Paea joined the squad from Melbourne, Australia by way of the University at Buffalo, she was the only one on the roster from Down Under. However, this season two more Aussies have joined her on the team in freshman forward Jada Crawshaw and director of operations Brittany Klaman.
Crawshaw hails from Sydney where she prepped at Barker College. She also gained experience playing for the Sydney Comets and the Sydney Flames. A a naturally gifted player, Crawshaw went on to be selected to the All-Australia Team and earned a spot on the U19 Aus Gems squad where she competed at the Centre of Excellence on one of four junior national team camps.
Klaman is originally from Point Cook in Melbourne where she played at Williamstown High School before heading to the United States for her collegiate career. In college, Klaman played at Eastern Washington and California Baptist, before joining the Long Beach State staff.
Team Identity
LB Grit has been long associated with the Long Beach State Men's Volleyball program. However, when asked to describe her team's identity, Coach Wright was quick to say, "Gritty. Scrappy. Chippy." She went on to explain that her current team is filled with physical players who "get in there and tangle up, and talk their talk." Wright likes the hard-nosed, blue collar style of play her team has on the court. "Those three words explain the personality of this team. And you've got to be that way. If you're going to be running fast, shooting these shots, and guarding hard, you've got to play with a little chip on your shoulder."
Pack The Pyramid
Long Beach State Women's Basketball is looking to Pack the Pyramid this year and set new attendance records inside the 'Mid. This year's staff and players are excited for the new team look, new style of play, and all around brand new identity. Junior guard Savannah Tucker thinks the Beach fans "can expect to see us get up and down the court, have lots of energy, and just get out there and have fun. It's a fun game to play and it's going to be a fun game to watch."
Adding to that, sophomore forward Abby Shoff said, "I feel like we're gelling great. We have a true sisterhood. It's a real family-like atmosphere. I'm very grateful. I'm looking forward to creating new memories with this team. I think we'll have a great season!"
Wright wants fans to Pack the Pyramid all season long. "Come out and see us play. Give us a chance. I understand there's a lot going on in this area, but I promise you, you will be entertained. You will want to be a part of what we're building here at Long Beach State."
Next Up
Following the Beach Classic, Long Beach State will welcome San Francisco to the Walter Pyramid on Tuesday, Dec. 19 at 4 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
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/ Women's Basketball'24 '25 Women's Basketball Home Schedule Reveal
Thursday, August 29
Get To Know: 24-25 Women's Basketball Newest Members
Wednesday, August 14
Women's Basketball Post Game Press Conference vs UC Irvine
Sunday, March 03
Women's Basketball Post Game Press Conference vs Hawaii
Sunday, February 25
