LBSU Women’s Hoops Hosts UC Riverside, Travels to Hawaii in This Week’s Action

Wednesday, February 15

Long Beach, Calif.

7:00 PM

Long Beach State University

UC Riverside

Photo by: John Fajardo

LBSU Women’s Hoops Hosts UC Riverside, Travels to Hawaii in This Week’s Action

2/14/2023 5:23:00 PM | Women's Basketball

The Beach host UC Riverside on Wednesday, before facing Hawaii on the road on Saturday

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

LONG BEACH STATE (17-7, 12-2) vs. UC RIVERSIDE (5-19, 3-11)
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 15
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Venue: Walter Pyramid
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Jason Schwartz & Dave Miller
Twitter: @LBSUWBB
Ticket Website: LongBeachState.com

LONG BEACH STATE (17-7, 12-2) @ HAWAII (11-12, 9-5)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 18
Time: 7:00 p.m. (HST) / 9:00 p.m. (PST)
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Venue: SimpliFi Arena at Sheriff Center
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Kanoa Leahey
Twitter: @LBSUWBB

COMPLETE LBSU GAME NOTES (PDF)

LBSU Women's Hoops Hosts UC Riverside, Travels to Hawaii in This Week's Action
After a pair of close wins last week, the Long Beach State Women's Basketball Team looks to extend its 10-game winning streak when it faces UC Riverside and Hawaii. The Beach host the Highlanders on Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m., in the Play 4 Kay Pink Game, before facing a road test in Honolulu on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 9 p.m. (PST).

Catch All the Action
Both Long Beach State games will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Fans can sign up for ESPN+ for $5.99 per month ($59.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNPluss.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 $13.99 per month (Hulu with ads) or $19.99 per month (Hulu without ads). Fans can also follow stats updates for all home contests on 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 has played two ranked teams this season so far in No. 18 Arizona in Tucson and then-No. 24 Baylor in Waco. The Beach suffered a pair of road losses to both the Wildcats and the Bears. Since then, Baylor has dropped out of the rankings, but is still receiving votes.in the USA Today/WBCA Poll.

Earlier this season, LBSU opened the season against then-unranked Gonzaga and dropped an 80-54 decision on the road. However, since the season opener on November 10, the Bulldogs have moved into the national rankings coming in at No. 20 in the latest AP Poll.

In the Women's Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, Gonzaga leads the way, while UC Irvine comes in at No. 18. Meanwhile, Long Beach State is now receiving votes after having won their last 10 contests, including a victory over the Anteaters on February 4.

About the Beach
• Long Beach State has been on a roll, winning its last 10 contests to improve to 17-7 overall.
• With a 12-2 Big West mark, the Beach sit at the top of the league standings a game above second-place UC Irvine.
• The Beach rolled through Big West action after dropping their two first conference contests against CSUN (57-55) on January 5 and UC Irvine (60-57) on January 7.
• LBSU was been chosen to finish third in the Big West Preseason Coaches Poll with a total of 73 points. Long Beach was chosen to finish behind preseason favorite Hawaii, which earned 99 points
and nine first-place votes, as well as UC Santa Barbara, which came in second with 84 points and two first place votes.
• As a team, Long Beach State is averaging 62.46 points per game for a scoring margin of +6.29 as their opponents are averaging 56.17 points per game.
• Offensively, the Beach are shooting 43.5 percent from the field, a mark that is second in The Big West.
• The Beach lead The Big West in three-point field goal percent defense (26.8), steals per game (12.04), turnover margin (+6.21), and assist/turnover ratio (0.97).
• This season, LBSU is averaging 29.54 rebounds per game, while adding 13.79 assists per game, and 3.33 blocks per game.
• LBSU has three double-figure scorers on the squad in Tori Harris (13.6 ppg), Malia Bambrick (12.6 ppg), and Kianna Hamilton-Fisher (10.4 ppg).
• Harris also leads the team with a 47.3 field goal percentage which is good for third in The Big West, while Bambrick's field goal percentage of 44.6 ranks her fifth in the conference.
• Redshirt senior guard Ma'Qhi Berry has been a key component to Long Beach State's success as she leads the way with 91 assists, 52 steals and 16 blocks. She also contributes 7.9 points per game and 3.4 rebounds per game. Berry leads the Big West in asssits per game (4.33), while ranking third in assist/turnover ratio (1.40), and second in steals per game (2.53).
• In the game at UC Santa Barbara last week, junior Kristyna Jeskeova, the team's leader in rebounding (6.7 rpg), steals (63) and blocks (20) suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Scouting UC Riverside
• UC Riverside brings a 5-19 overall record into the week, while posting a 3-11 Big West mark.
• The Highlanders went 0-2 last week with losses at UC Davis (73-64) and against UC Irvine (56-45). UCR has lost eight of their last nine games.
• On the road, the Highlanders have struggled this year posting a 1-12 away record. Their lone road win came at CSUN (53-52) on January 7.
• As a team, the Highlanders are shooting 33.6 percent from the field and averaging 51.7 points per game, while allowing 60.8 points per game.
• The Highlanders average 30.8 rebounds per game, while also adding 9.2 assists, 15.3 turnovers, 7.9 steals, and 2.5 blocks per game on the year.
• Jordan Webster is the Highlanders' leading scorer wiht 11.6 points per game to go along with 4.0 rebounds per game. She also leads the team with 44 steals.
• The team's leading rebounder is Matehya Bryant who is averaging 7.1 boards per game. Bryant is also the team's second leading scorer with 8.9 points per game to go along with 39 steals, 18 assists, and 14 blocks.
• RyAnne Walters has racked up 55 assists on the season, while also contributing 6.0 points per game and 27 steals.
• Mele Finau has put up a team-leading 18 blocks this year to go along with 5.2 points per game and 3.7 rebounds per game.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Highlanders
Long Beach State and UC Riverside will meet for the 51st time in program history and the all-time series is knotted at 25-25. When playing in Long Beach, the Beach lead the series 14-8. Earlier this season, the two teams faced off at the SRC in Riverside, Calif., and the Beach downed the Highlanders, 73-62.

Scouting Hawaii
• Hawaii comes into the week with an 11-12 overall record and a 9-5 Big West ledger as they sit in fourth place in the league standings.
• The Rainbow Wahine have won their last three contests over Cal Poly (80-58), UC San Diego (61-58), and Cal State Fullerton (60-54).
• However, when playing at home at the SimpliFi Arena at the Sheriff Center, the Bows are just 4-8 this season.
• Hawaii is shooting 39.7 percent from the field, while averaging 59.0 points per game. Meanwhile, the Bows have allowed 59.9 points this season for a scoring margin of -0.9.
• The Bows average 34.2 rebounds per game to go along with 11.7 assists, 15.4 turnovers, 7.1 steals, and 2.3 blocks per game.
• Lily Wahinekapu and Daejah Phillips are the team's leading scorers as the pair averages 11.0 points per game on the year.
• Wahinekapu also leads the team with 62 assists to go along with 3.5 rebounds per game and 32 steals.
• Phillips, meanwhile, leads the squad with 36 steals, while adding 59 assists, and 3.8 rebounds per game.
• Kallin Spiller is the Bows' leading rebounder with 7.4 rebounds per game. She also leads the team in blocks with 23. Spiller is also the squad's third-leading scorer with 8.4 points per game.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Rainbow Wahine
Long Beach State and Hawaii will face each other for the 46th time in program history. In the all-time series, the Bows lead the way 24-21. However, Long Beach State won the last contest by a score of 62-48 earlier this season in Long Beach, Calif. When playing each other in Hawaii, the Bows lead 14-8.

It's Been Grand
The Long Beach State Women's Basketball program has had a long and storied history. Since its inaugural season in 1962-63, the Beach have made 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, two Final Four showings, while boasting 27 1,000-point scorers, four All-Americans, (LaTaunya Pollard, Cindy Brown, Kristen Cummings, and Penny Toler)and two Olympians (Pollard and Brown). With a 999-619 overall record, the Beach are closing in on their 1,000th program victory in the 58 years of the program's existence.

Ma'Qhi's Milestone
Senior guard Ma'Qhi Berry became the 27th player in Long Beach State Women's Basketball history to record 1,000 career points. Berry sunk a pair of free throw at UC Irvine, the first marking the milestone, as she went on to finish with a season-high 12 points in LBSU's 52-50 win. Berry has now amassed 1,032 points in her career and has moved into 26th place in the all-time record book.

Milestone Watch
In addition to Ma'Qhi Berry hitting her 1,000th career point at the Beach, Long Beach State has a pair of other players who are nearing the milestone over their Division I careers. Courtney Murphy, who played four years at Seattle U before transferring to Long Beach for her master's degree has amassed 976 points in per Division I career. With 109 coming at LBSU, she is just 24 points of reaching 1,000 in her Division I career. Also coming up on the 1,000-point milestone is Tori Harris, who came to Long Beach State to earn her master's degree, after graduating from St. Bonaventure and playing two years at James Madison. Harris has scored 954 points in her Division I career thus far, making her just 46 points shy of 1,000. Harris has scored 327 of those points in Black and Gold.

Ki Component
Redshirt junior guard Kianna Hamilton-Fisher recorded her second 20-point performance of the season last weekend when she led the Beach with 22 points and sparked a comeback win over CSU Bakersfield to lead LBSU to their 10th straight victory. On the season, Hamilton-Fisher is averaging 10.4 points per game and 2.5 rebounds per game, to go along with 67 assists, 49 steals, and 16 blocks.

VicTORIous
Tori Harris had a big game at UC Santa Barbara last week as she led Long Beach State with a 21-point performance in the Beach's narrow, 58-57, win over the Gauchos. Harris has now recorded double-figures in 20 games this season, while registering 20 points or more on four separate occassions including a career-high 32-point showing against UC San Diego. This season, Harris is the Beach's leading scorer with 13.6 points per game, while adding 4.2 rebounds per game. She also contributes 44 assists, 36 steals, and 10 blocks.

Berry Good
Ma'Qhi Berry is a redshirt senior guard in her fifth year at Long Beach State and is currenly leading the team in assists (91) as she averages 4.33 to lead The Big West. She has been an integral part of the LBSU starting five averaging 7.9 points per game, while adding 3.4 rebounds per game. She has led the Beach in assists in 15 games this season. Last week against CSU Bakersfield, Berry matched her season-high with 17 points and eight rebounds to lead the Beach to a 66-55 victory as LBSU extended its winning streak to 10.

Hot on the Court
Redshirt senior guard Courtney Murphy has seen action in every game thus far, and just last week, stepped into the starting lineup after an injury sidelined Kristyna Jeskeova. With Jeskova out for the remainder of the season, the Beach will likely be looking at Murphy to fill the gap. On the year, Murphy is averaging 4.5 points per game and 2.0 rebounds per game, to go along with 19 assists, nine steals, and three blocks. She recorded a season-high 15 points at Cal Poly earlier this season, and has been an integral piece to the Beach bench.

Next Up
Long Beach State will host UC Santa Barbara on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. in the Walter Pyramid, before facing CSUN on the road on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 2 p.m.