Saturday, December 30
Northridge, Calif.
2:00 PM
Long Beach State University
at
CSUN
Photo by: John Fajardo
Long Beach Women’s Basketball Heads To Northridge To Take On CSUN
12/29/2023 12:23:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Beach take on the Matadors on Saturday at 2 p.m. on the road
LONG BEACH STATE (5-6, 0-1 Big West) @ CSUN (2-9, 0-1 Big West)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 30
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Location: Northridge, Calif.
Venue: Premier America Credit Union Arena
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Jill Painter Lopez
Live Stats: GoMatadors.com
Twitter: @LBSUWBB
Long Beach Women's Basketball Heads To Northridge To Take On CSUN
The Long Beach State Women's Basketball team will hit the road for the first time in three weeks as they head to Northridge, Calif., to face CSUN on Saturday, Dec. 30 at 2 p.m. to close out the calendar year.
Catch All the Action
All Long Beach State home games will be broadcast live on ESPN+. 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). Fans can also follow live stats via BeachLiveStats.com.
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 5-6 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. The Beach are tied for seventh place in The Big West Standings with an 0-1 mark.
• CSUN comes into the game against the Beach with a 2-9 overall record. The Matadors are not ranked in the AP Poll, the USA Today/WBCA Poll, nor are they ranked in the Women's Mid-Major Top 25 Poll. Cal State CSUN is 0-1 in Big West action and in last place in the conference standings.
About the Beach
• Long Beach State brings a 5-6 overall record and an 0-1 Big West mark into the game at CSUN.
• The Beach are coming off of a tough 67-61 loss to Cal State Fullerton on Thursday night. After falling behind early, LBSU rallied in the fourth quarter, but came up just short as the Beach dropped their first conference game of the year.
• 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.
• Long Beach State has had a few key wins this season knocking off Nevada in convincing fashion, 79-52, before handing Colorado State their first loss of the year as the Beach earned their first-ever win over the Rams with an exciting 77-76 victory.
• Long Beach State's motto is to play "Fast, Furious, and Fun." So far, the Beach has showcased a fast offense as they average 73.5 points per game to lead the conference, while boasting a furious defense as junior guard Sydney Woodley leads The Big West in steals per game (3.4). Additionally, the Beach also brings a lot of fun both on and off the court as the team goes out into the stands after every home game for a "3-Minute Drill" in which they meet and mingle with the fans.
• LBSU has three double-figure scorers in Savannah Tucker (14.2 ppg), Sydney Woodley (11.2 ppg), and Cheyenne Givens (10.2 ppg). Tucker is ranked seventh in The Big West.
• Tucker is the Beach's leading scorer as she averages 14.2 points per game on a 38.0 (46-121) field goal percentage. Her 37.1 (23-62) three-point percentage and 82.0 (41-50) free throw percentage are good for third and fourth, respectively, in the conference. She also ranks seventh in the league with 2.2 made three-pointers per game.
• Junior guard Sydney Woodley leads the Beach in steals with 37, including a career-high tying seven swipes against Colorado State. She is now averaging a Big West-leading 3.4 steals per game, which ranks her 14th in the nation. Additionally, she is the team's second-leading scorer with 11.2 points per game on a 48.1 (50-104) field goal percentage to come in sixth in the league.
• Givens rounds out LBSU's double-figure scorers with 10.2 points per game on a 49.4 (42-85) field goal percentage which ranks her in the Top 5 in The Big West. In addition, Givens is averaging 2.3 rebounds per game to go along with 17 assists, 15 steals, and three blocks.
• So far this season, junior Patricia Chung has recorded a pair of career-highs as she dished out eight assists in the season opener against Biola before picking up 10 rebounds against Colorado State on Dec. 15. The Beach's leader in assists (30) is averaging 2.9 assists per game to rank seventh in The Big West. Additionally, Chung leads the team in rebounding with 5.0 boards per game, while contributing 7.8 points per game.
• Senior Casey Valenti Paea is coming off of a career night as she poured in a career-best 20 points Dec.16 against Pacific. With her hot offensive output, Valenti Paea is now averaging 9.3 points per game to go along with 3.4 rebounds per game, while totaling 24 assists and 16 steals.
• True freshman Jada Crawshaw has been a key component to Long Beach State as she has come off the bench in all 11 games this season and is second on the team in rebounding (4.9 rpg). She also chips in 6.7 points per game, while adding seven blocks, eight steals, and seven assists.
• 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. On Thursday night, in the Beach's conference opener, she collected her first career points of her collegiate career.
• Lovely Sonnier came to the Beach after playing two years at South Carolina State. The junior guard has started in all 11 games for LBSU thus far. On the year, she is averaging 5.6 points per game and 3.3 rebounds per game, while also adding nine assists, eight steals, and four blocks.
• Junior guard Savannah Tucker is Long Beach State's leading scorer as she is averaging 14.2 points per game on a 38.0 (46-121) field goal percentage. She also adds 50 boards, 16 assists, and 12 steals.
• Patricia Chung is Long Beach State's leader in assists and rebounds as the junior guard has dished out 30 helpers on the year and is averaging 5.0 rebounds per game. Additionally, she is averaging 7.8 points per game to go along with seven steals.
• 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 Dec. 15. Givens is the team's third leading scorer as she averages 10.2 points per game, while adding 2.3 rebounds per game, to go along with 15 steals, 17 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 20 points versus Pacific on Dec. 16 night to bring her points per game average up to 9.3. She also contributes 3.4 rebounds per game, to go along with 24 assists, 16 steals, and four blocks.
• Jada Crawshaw, a freshman from Sydney, Australia, made her collegiate debut in the LBSU season opener against Biola on Nov. 8. She has since found her groove averaging 6.7 points per game and is second on the squad with 4.9 rebounds per game. She also has chipped in seven blocks, eight steals, and seven assists on the year.
• Sophomore forward Abby Shoff has come off the bench in 6-of-11 of Long Beach's games this season and is averaging 4.8 rebounds per game. However, she will be unavailable tonight due to an injury to her foot.
• Sydney Woodley has started in all 11 games for Long Beach State this season. She is the Beach's leader in steals with 37 swipes after tying her career-high (7) against Colorado State on Dec. 15. Woodley had a solid performance against the Rams as she also set a new career-high in points (19). She is now averaging 11.2 points points per game and 4.4 rebounds per game, to go along with 20 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 1.0 points per game and 0.7 rebounds per game, while totaling three assists, one steal, and one block in just under 50 minutes played.
• Davai Matthews came back to Long Beach State after seeing limited action last year due to an injury. In 11 games thus far, she has become the team's leader in blocker with 11 on the year. She is coming off of a career-performance against San Francisco on Dec. 19 in which she led the team with eight rebounds and five assists, while adding 10 points - all of which set new career-highs for the 6-foot-3 forward out of Detroit, Mich.
Scouting CSUN
• CSUN comes into the game against the Beach with a 2-9 overall record and an 0-1 Big West mark.
• The Matadors are looking to snap a nine-game losing streak dating back to November 14.
• As a team, the Matadors are averaging 56.1 points per game, while allowing 74.9 for a scoring margin of -18.8.
• From the field, CSUN is shooting 34.9 (229-656) percent to go along with 32.4 rebounds per game. Additionally, the Matadors average 11.9 assists, 17.5 turnovers, 9.2 steals, and 4.2 blocks per game this season.
• The Matadors have two double-figure scorers in Amiyah Ferguson (11.0 ppg) and Kaitlyn Elsholz (10.8 ppg).
• Ferguson is also the team leader in assists with 39, while adding 26 rebounds, 11 steals, and one block.
• Kayanna Spriggs leads CSUN in rebounding with 5.4 boards per game. She also sets the team standard in steals with 16 to go along with 7.4 points per game, 14 assists, and five blocks.
• Talo Li-Uperesa has seen action in all 11 games for the Matadors this season and has made 10 starts. She is leading the squad with 14 blocks, while also adding 7.1 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game.
The Series: The Beach vs. The Matadors
Long Beach State and CSUN will meet for the 69th time in program history. In a series that dates back to the 1963-64 season, the Beach leads the all-time series 44-24 and won the last game against the Matadors, 87-76 on Feb. 25, 2023 in Northridge. When playing each other in Northridge, Calif., LBSU leads the way with a 17-12 record. Prior to LBSU's win last February, the Matadors had won the previous four games over Long Beach State.
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."
20/20 Vision
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. 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 14.2 points per game.
Tucker isn't the only Long Beach State player dropping 20 points. On December 16 against Pacific, senior guard Casey Valenti Paea recorded a career-best 20 points. Against the Tigers, Valenti Paea shot 57.1 (8-14) from the field and 60.0 (3-5) from long distance to lead the Beach. With her solid offensive showing, she is now averaging 9.3 points per game on the year.
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 30 helpers to average 2.9 assists per game to rank seventh in The Big West. In addition, Chung also contributes 7.8 points per game and leads the Beach in rebounding with 5.0 boards per game, to go along with seven 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. Her season total is now a team-leading 11 as she ranks sixth in The Big West with 1.0 blocks per game. Additionally, Matthews is chipping in 4.2 rebounds per game and 2.9 points per game on the year.
Getting Defensive
Junior guard Sydney Woodley has been on-point defensively as she leads the Beach in steals (37), while her 3.4 steals per game average tops The Big Wests and ranks her 14th in the nation. On Dec. 15, Woodley tied her career-high with seven swipes against Colorado State to lead Long Beach State to their first win over the Rams in program history, while handing CSU their first loss of year. With Woodley leading the way, Long Beach comes in third in the conference with 10.5 steals per game this season.
The Best In The (Big) West
As we head into the conference season, Long Beach State has already established itself as one of the top teams in The Big West. The Beach lead the conference in four statistical categories as the come in first in scoring offense (73.5), rebounding offense (40.5), offensive rebounds per game (13.0), and defensive rebounds per game (27.5).
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."
Next Up
Long Beach State returns home to host Cal Poly at the Walter Pyramid on Thursday, Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Date: Saturday, Dec. 30
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Location: Northridge, Calif.
Venue: Premier America Credit Union Arena
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Jill Painter Lopez
Live Stats: GoMatadors.com
Twitter: @LBSUWBB
Long Beach Women's Basketball Heads To Northridge To Take On CSUN
The Long Beach State Women's Basketball team will hit the road for the first time in three weeks as they head to Northridge, Calif., to face CSUN on Saturday, Dec. 30 at 2 p.m. to close out the calendar year.
Catch All the Action
All Long Beach State home games will be broadcast live on ESPN+. 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). Fans can also follow live stats via BeachLiveStats.com.
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 5-6 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. The Beach are tied for seventh place in The Big West Standings with an 0-1 mark.
• CSUN comes into the game against the Beach with a 2-9 overall record. The Matadors are not ranked in the AP Poll, the USA Today/WBCA Poll, nor are they ranked in the Women's Mid-Major Top 25 Poll. Cal State CSUN is 0-1 in Big West action and in last place in the conference standings.
About the Beach
• Long Beach State brings a 5-6 overall record and an 0-1 Big West mark into the game at CSUN.
• The Beach are coming off of a tough 67-61 loss to Cal State Fullerton on Thursday night. After falling behind early, LBSU rallied in the fourth quarter, but came up just short as the Beach dropped their first conference game of the year.
• 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.
• Long Beach State has had a few key wins this season knocking off Nevada in convincing fashion, 79-52, before handing Colorado State their first loss of the year as the Beach earned their first-ever win over the Rams with an exciting 77-76 victory.
• Long Beach State's motto is to play "Fast, Furious, and Fun." So far, the Beach has showcased a fast offense as they average 73.5 points per game to lead the conference, while boasting a furious defense as junior guard Sydney Woodley leads The Big West in steals per game (3.4). Additionally, the Beach also brings a lot of fun both on and off the court as the team goes out into the stands after every home game for a "3-Minute Drill" in which they meet and mingle with the fans.
• LBSU has three double-figure scorers in Savannah Tucker (14.2 ppg), Sydney Woodley (11.2 ppg), and Cheyenne Givens (10.2 ppg). Tucker is ranked seventh in The Big West.
• Tucker is the Beach's leading scorer as she averages 14.2 points per game on a 38.0 (46-121) field goal percentage. Her 37.1 (23-62) three-point percentage and 82.0 (41-50) free throw percentage are good for third and fourth, respectively, in the conference. She also ranks seventh in the league with 2.2 made three-pointers per game.
• Junior guard Sydney Woodley leads the Beach in steals with 37, including a career-high tying seven swipes against Colorado State. She is now averaging a Big West-leading 3.4 steals per game, which ranks her 14th in the nation. Additionally, she is the team's second-leading scorer with 11.2 points per game on a 48.1 (50-104) field goal percentage to come in sixth in the league.
• Givens rounds out LBSU's double-figure scorers with 10.2 points per game on a 49.4 (42-85) field goal percentage which ranks her in the Top 5 in The Big West. In addition, Givens is averaging 2.3 rebounds per game to go along with 17 assists, 15 steals, and three blocks.
• So far this season, junior Patricia Chung has recorded a pair of career-highs as she dished out eight assists in the season opener against Biola before picking up 10 rebounds against Colorado State on Dec. 15. The Beach's leader in assists (30) is averaging 2.9 assists per game to rank seventh in The Big West. Additionally, Chung leads the team in rebounding with 5.0 boards per game, while contributing 7.8 points per game.
• Senior Casey Valenti Paea is coming off of a career night as she poured in a career-best 20 points Dec.16 against Pacific. With her hot offensive output, Valenti Paea is now averaging 9.3 points per game to go along with 3.4 rebounds per game, while totaling 24 assists and 16 steals.
• True freshman Jada Crawshaw has been a key component to Long Beach State as she has come off the bench in all 11 games this season and is second on the team in rebounding (4.9 rpg). She also chips in 6.7 points per game, while adding seven blocks, eight steals, and seven assists.
• 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. On Thursday night, in the Beach's conference opener, she collected her first career points of her collegiate career.
• Lovely Sonnier came to the Beach after playing two years at South Carolina State. The junior guard has started in all 11 games for LBSU thus far. On the year, she is averaging 5.6 points per game and 3.3 rebounds per game, while also adding nine assists, eight steals, and four blocks.
• Junior guard Savannah Tucker is Long Beach State's leading scorer as she is averaging 14.2 points per game on a 38.0 (46-121) field goal percentage. She also adds 50 boards, 16 assists, and 12 steals.
• Patricia Chung is Long Beach State's leader in assists and rebounds as the junior guard has dished out 30 helpers on the year and is averaging 5.0 rebounds per game. Additionally, she is averaging 7.8 points per game to go along with seven steals.
• 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 Dec. 15. Givens is the team's third leading scorer as she averages 10.2 points per game, while adding 2.3 rebounds per game, to go along with 15 steals, 17 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 20 points versus Pacific on Dec. 16 night to bring her points per game average up to 9.3. She also contributes 3.4 rebounds per game, to go along with 24 assists, 16 steals, and four blocks.
• Jada Crawshaw, a freshman from Sydney, Australia, made her collegiate debut in the LBSU season opener against Biola on Nov. 8. She has since found her groove averaging 6.7 points per game and is second on the squad with 4.9 rebounds per game. She also has chipped in seven blocks, eight steals, and seven assists on the year.
• Sophomore forward Abby Shoff has come off the bench in 6-of-11 of Long Beach's games this season and is averaging 4.8 rebounds per game. However, she will be unavailable tonight due to an injury to her foot.
• Sydney Woodley has started in all 11 games for Long Beach State this season. She is the Beach's leader in steals with 37 swipes after tying her career-high (7) against Colorado State on Dec. 15. Woodley had a solid performance against the Rams as she also set a new career-high in points (19). She is now averaging 11.2 points points per game and 4.4 rebounds per game, to go along with 20 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 1.0 points per game and 0.7 rebounds per game, while totaling three assists, one steal, and one block in just under 50 minutes played.
• Davai Matthews came back to Long Beach State after seeing limited action last year due to an injury. In 11 games thus far, she has become the team's leader in blocker with 11 on the year. She is coming off of a career-performance against San Francisco on Dec. 19 in which she led the team with eight rebounds and five assists, while adding 10 points - all of which set new career-highs for the 6-foot-3 forward out of Detroit, Mich.
Scouting CSUN
• CSUN comes into the game against the Beach with a 2-9 overall record and an 0-1 Big West mark.
• The Matadors are looking to snap a nine-game losing streak dating back to November 14.
• As a team, the Matadors are averaging 56.1 points per game, while allowing 74.9 for a scoring margin of -18.8.
• From the field, CSUN is shooting 34.9 (229-656) percent to go along with 32.4 rebounds per game. Additionally, the Matadors average 11.9 assists, 17.5 turnovers, 9.2 steals, and 4.2 blocks per game this season.
• The Matadors have two double-figure scorers in Amiyah Ferguson (11.0 ppg) and Kaitlyn Elsholz (10.8 ppg).
• Ferguson is also the team leader in assists with 39, while adding 26 rebounds, 11 steals, and one block.
• Kayanna Spriggs leads CSUN in rebounding with 5.4 boards per game. She also sets the team standard in steals with 16 to go along with 7.4 points per game, 14 assists, and five blocks.
• Talo Li-Uperesa has seen action in all 11 games for the Matadors this season and has made 10 starts. She is leading the squad with 14 blocks, while also adding 7.1 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game.
The Series: The Beach vs. The Matadors
Long Beach State and CSUN will meet for the 69th time in program history. In a series that dates back to the 1963-64 season, the Beach leads the all-time series 44-24 and won the last game against the Matadors, 87-76 on Feb. 25, 2023 in Northridge. When playing each other in Northridge, Calif., LBSU leads the way with a 17-12 record. Prior to LBSU's win last February, the Matadors had won the previous four games over Long Beach State.
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."
20/20 Vision
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. 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 14.2 points per game.
Tucker isn't the only Long Beach State player dropping 20 points. On December 16 against Pacific, senior guard Casey Valenti Paea recorded a career-best 20 points. Against the Tigers, Valenti Paea shot 57.1 (8-14) from the field and 60.0 (3-5) from long distance to lead the Beach. With her solid offensive showing, she is now averaging 9.3 points per game on the year.
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 30 helpers to average 2.9 assists per game to rank seventh in The Big West. In addition, Chung also contributes 7.8 points per game and leads the Beach in rebounding with 5.0 boards per game, to go along with seven 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. Her season total is now a team-leading 11 as she ranks sixth in The Big West with 1.0 blocks per game. Additionally, Matthews is chipping in 4.2 rebounds per game and 2.9 points per game on the year.
Getting Defensive
Junior guard Sydney Woodley has been on-point defensively as she leads the Beach in steals (37), while her 3.4 steals per game average tops The Big Wests and ranks her 14th in the nation. On Dec. 15, Woodley tied her career-high with seven swipes against Colorado State to lead Long Beach State to their first win over the Rams in program history, while handing CSU their first loss of year. With Woodley leading the way, Long Beach comes in third in the conference with 10.5 steals per game this season.
The Best In The (Big) West
As we head into the conference season, Long Beach State has already established itself as one of the top teams in The Big West. The Beach lead the conference in four statistical categories as the come in first in scoring offense (73.5), rebounding offense (40.5), offensive rebounds per game (13.0), and defensive rebounds per game (27.5).
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."
Next Up
Long Beach State returns home to host Cal Poly at the Walter Pyramid on Thursday, Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Players Mentioned
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