Beach Women’s Hoops Extends Winning Streak to 10 With Comeback Win Over CSU Bakersfield

Saturday, February 11

Long Beach, Calif.

4:00 PM

Long Beach State University

17-7,12-2Big West

CSU Bakersfield

6-16,3-11Big West

CSU Bakersfield

Long Beach St.

Photo by: John Fajardo

Beach Women’s Hoops Extends Winning Streak to 10 With Comeback Win Over CSU Bakersfield

2/11/2023 7:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Kianna Hamilton-Fisher led the Beach with 22 points, while Ma’Qhi Berry added 17 points and eight rebounds in the LBSU victory

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

Box Score (PDF)

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Kianna Hamilton-Fisher kicked off the second half with nine-straight points to give Long Beach State the spark it needed to mount a come-from-behind victory over CSU Bakersfield, 66-55, on Saturday at the Walter Pyramid as the Beach extended their winning streak to 10.

Long Beach State (17-7, 12-2 Big West) shot 50.0 percent (13-26) from the field and 100.0 percent (13-13) from the free throw line in the second half as the Beach outscored CSU Bakersfield (6-16, 3-11 Big West) 41-19 in the final 20 minutes of action. With the win, the Beach hold steady at first place in The Big West standings with a one game lead on second place UC Irvine.

The Beach took an early 9-3 lead over the Roadrunners in the first quarter, but CSU Bakersfield chipped away and held a five-point (19-14) lead at the end of the opening frame.

The Roadrunners used an 8-0 run in the second quarter to open up a nine-point (29-20) advantage over LBSU after a three from Sophia Tougas at 4:15. CSU Bakersfield managed to push their lead over Long Beach State to 11 (36-25) by halftime after the Beach shot just 25.0 percent (3-12) in the quarter.

LBSU trailed by as many as 13 (38-25) as CSU Bakersfield kicked off the third quarter with a layup from Hennie Van Schaik at 9:19. Just 17 seconds later, Hamilton-Fisher took the game into her own hands as she drained a three to jumpstart a 9-0 Long Beach State run in which she manufactured every point as the Beach found themselves down by only four (38-34) with 7:27 on the clock. With new energy coming from Hamilton-Fisher's scoring run, Long Beach State chipped away and evened the score at 45-all after a jumper from Courtney Murphy at 3:45 and found themselves back in the game as they trailed by just four (51-47) at the end of the third quarter.

The Beach started the fourth quarter with seven-straight points to take their first lead of the game since early in the first quarter as a driving layup by Ma'Qhi Berry gave LBSU a 54-51 edge with 5:51 on the clock. Long Beach State strung together eight-consecutive points to jump out in front by nine (62-53) with just 1:38 remaining. The LBSU defense was on point as they limited CSU Bakersfield to just one field goal in the final five minutes of action to complete the comeback and win, 66-55.

Hamilton-Fisher would finish the game with 22 points for her second 20-point performance of the season as she shot 53.8 percent (7-13) from the field, with one triple. Meanwhile, she went 7-for-8 from the line, while also adding five rebounds, five assists, and five steals against just one turnover.

Berry finished the game with a season-high 17 points and eight rebounds to go along with three assists, three steals, and two blocks.

Also recording double-digits in the game was redshirt senior guard Tori Harris who concluded the contest with 14 points marking her fifth-straight double-digit showing. Harris also contributed five boards, two assists, and two steals.

For CSU Bakersfield, Tougas and Van Schaik led the way with 18 and 17 points, respectively. Solmilena Herrera posted nine rebounds and seven points, while Taylor Caldwell dished out eight assists in the game.

Long Beach State will face UC Riverside next on Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m., at the Walter Pyramid. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.