Friday, March 10
Henderson, Nev.
2:30 PM
Long Beach State University
23-9,17-3Big West
62
vs
67
Hawaii
17-14,13-7Big West
1
2
3
4
F
Hawaii
10
11
25
21
67
Long Beach St.
11
10
21
20
62
Photo by: John Fajardo
Long Beach State Battles Hawaii, Drops Hard-Fought Contest in The Big West Semifinals
3/10/2023 7:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Three Beach players score in double-figures in Long Beach State’s tough loss
Box Score (PDF)
HENDERSON, Nev. – The No. 2 seed Long Beach State Women's Basketball team went on a 7-0 run in the fourth quarter, but came up just short as No. 3 seed Hawaii defeated the Beach, 67-62, on Friday at The Dollar Loan Center at The Big West Semifinals.
The Beach (23-9) shot 40.3 percent from the field, while the Rainbow Wahine (17-14) posted a 43.4 field goal percentage. The Bows held the edge in rebounding (38-28), as well as assists (13-8). However, the Beach picked up 12 steals to the Bows' seven, and forced Hawaii into 18 turnovers.
Kianna Hamilton-Fisher led the Beach with 17 points, while Ma'Qhi Berry finished with 13 points, and Courtney Murphy added 12. Berry, along with Tori Harris, led the squad in rebounds with six. Berry and Harris also led the squad with four steals each, while Berry and Malia Bambrick each posted three assists.
The game was close throughout as three of the four quarters were one-point frames. The Beach opened the game with an early 4-0 lead thanks to a jumper from Bambrick and a layup from Harris. However, Hawaii was quick to counter as the Bows scored five-straight to take their first lead (10-9) of the game with 1:21 left in the quarter. Berry's second-chance jumper with just 20.3 seconds remaining gave the Beach an 11-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter went back-and-forth early on. The Bows, once again, strung together five-straight points to go up by three (21-18) with 2:13 on the clock. However, Murphy drained the first of her four threes to send the game into halftime tied 21-21.
Hawaii made three-straight triples to go on a 9-0 run and open up a 34-28 lead over the Beach. Long Beach State utilized a timeout at 5:44 and regrouped as they came out of the break and cut the Bows' lead down to two (34-32). However, Hawaii went back up by five (48-38) after Daejah Phillips competed a three-point play with 1:03 left to play. In the frame, the Bows outscored the Beach, 25-21, and took a 46-42 lead going into the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter saw Hawaii lead by as many as 10 (57-47) with 2:18 remaining. However, Long Beach State played hard until the final second as the Beach went on a 7-0 run capped by a trey from Murphy at 1:38 to make it a one-possession game (57-54). The Bows went back up by seven two more times, before Murphy struck again hitting another three with just 2.1 seconds left as the Beach trailed by three (65-62). Phillips, however, laid in a final bucket for the Bows as the clock expired to give Hawaii the 67-62 point victory.
The Bows were led by Lily Wahinekapu's 18 points, while Phillips added 14, and Imani Perez posted 10. Wahinekapu, Perez, and Meilani McBee all finished with seven boards, while Phillips led the team with four assists.
Hawaii will advance to The Big West Championship game against No. 5 seed UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, March 11 at 3 p.m.
Long Beach State will await the release of the WNIT bracket on Sunday night to see if there is more basketball left to be played for the Beach.
HENDERSON, Nev. – The No. 2 seed Long Beach State Women's Basketball team went on a 7-0 run in the fourth quarter, but came up just short as No. 3 seed Hawaii defeated the Beach, 67-62, on Friday at The Dollar Loan Center at The Big West Semifinals.
The Beach (23-9) shot 40.3 percent from the field, while the Rainbow Wahine (17-14) posted a 43.4 field goal percentage. The Bows held the edge in rebounding (38-28), as well as assists (13-8). However, the Beach picked up 12 steals to the Bows' seven, and forced Hawaii into 18 turnovers.
Kianna Hamilton-Fisher led the Beach with 17 points, while Ma'Qhi Berry finished with 13 points, and Courtney Murphy added 12. Berry, along with Tori Harris, led the squad in rebounds with six. Berry and Harris also led the squad with four steals each, while Berry and Malia Bambrick each posted three assists.
The game was close throughout as three of the four quarters were one-point frames. The Beach opened the game with an early 4-0 lead thanks to a jumper from Bambrick and a layup from Harris. However, Hawaii was quick to counter as the Bows scored five-straight to take their first lead (10-9) of the game with 1:21 left in the quarter. Berry's second-chance jumper with just 20.3 seconds remaining gave the Beach an 11-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter went back-and-forth early on. The Bows, once again, strung together five-straight points to go up by three (21-18) with 2:13 on the clock. However, Murphy drained the first of her four threes to send the game into halftime tied 21-21.
Hawaii made three-straight triples to go on a 9-0 run and open up a 34-28 lead over the Beach. Long Beach State utilized a timeout at 5:44 and regrouped as they came out of the break and cut the Bows' lead down to two (34-32). However, Hawaii went back up by five (48-38) after Daejah Phillips competed a three-point play with 1:03 left to play. In the frame, the Bows outscored the Beach, 25-21, and took a 46-42 lead going into the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter saw Hawaii lead by as many as 10 (57-47) with 2:18 remaining. However, Long Beach State played hard until the final second as the Beach went on a 7-0 run capped by a trey from Murphy at 1:38 to make it a one-possession game (57-54). The Bows went back up by seven two more times, before Murphy struck again hitting another three with just 2.1 seconds left as the Beach trailed by three (65-62). Phillips, however, laid in a final bucket for the Bows as the clock expired to give Hawaii the 67-62 point victory.
Courtney Murphy makes it a 3-point game with 1:37 remaining!!! Let's GOOOOO #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/Jo6oqFe078
— LBSU W Basketball (@LBSUWBB) March 11, 2023
The Bows were led by Lily Wahinekapu's 18 points, while Phillips added 14, and Imani Perez posted 10. Wahinekapu, Perez, and Meilani McBee all finished with seven boards, while Phillips led the team with four assists.
Hawaii will advance to The Big West Championship game against No. 5 seed UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, March 11 at 3 p.m.
Long Beach State will await the release of the WNIT bracket on Sunday night to see if there is more basketball left to be played for the Beach.
Team Stats
Hawaii
LBSU
FG%
.434
.403
3FG%
.318
.269
FT%
.778
.833
RB
38
28
TO
18
11
STL
7
12
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
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