No. 2 Seed Long Beach State Ready for The Big West Quarterfinals Against No. 10 Seed UC Riverside

LONG BEACH STATE (22-8) vs. UC RIVERSIDE (6-25)
Date: Wednesday, March 8
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Henderson, Nev.
Venue: The Dollar Loan Center
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: TC Martin & Jill Gearin
Twitter: @LBSUWBB

COMPLETE LBSU GAME NOTES (PDF)

No. 2 Seed Long Beach State Ready for The Big West Quarterfinals Against No. 10 Seed UC Riverside
The Long Beach State Women's Basketball team finished the regular season with a 22-8 overall record and a 17-3 Big West mark to earn a No. 2 seed into The Big West Championships. The Beach will face No. 10 seed UC Riverside on Wednesday, March 8 at 6 p.m., at The Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nev.

Catch All the Action
The Long Beach State game 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 via StatBroadcast.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 then-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, Arizona has dropped to No. 24 in the AP Poll, while Baylor has dropped out of the rankings, but is 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. 16 in the latest AP Poll.

In the Women's Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, Gonzaga is ranked second, while UC Irvine comes in at No. 20. Meanwhile, Long Beach State has moved into the ranking at No. 25 after going on a 15-game winning steak from January 12 - March 2, including a victory over the Anteaters on February 4.

About the Beach
• Long Beach State closed out the regular season with a 22-8 overall record and a 17-3 Big West mark.
• With a 17-3 Big West ledger, the Beach earned the No. 2 seed in The Big West Championships.
• The last time Long Beach State was the No. 2 seed in The Big West Championships, the Beach won the 2017 Tournament Title and punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament after defeating CSUN (61-60) and UC Santa Barbara (56-55) at the Honda Center.
• With 22 wins on the year, Long Beach State has reached the 20-win plateau for the first time since the 2016-17 season. It also marked the first time in head coach Jeff Cammon's tenure that the Beach have recorded a 20-win season.
• The Beach went on a 15-game winning streak from January 12 - March 2. At the time, that streak was tied for the seventh-longest winning streak in Women's Basketball Division I this season.
• Long Beach State's 17 Big West victories are the most in program history since the 1988-89 season when the Beach went 18-0 in The Big West.
• At the end of the regular season, redshirt senior guard Tori Harris was named Big West Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, and to the All-Big West First Team. She became the first LBSU Big West Player of the Year since Crystal McCutcheon in 2006.
• LBSU Head Coach Jeff Cammon was named The Big West Coach of the Year, becoming the first Long Beach State coach to earn that award since Mary Hegarty in 2006.
• Junior guard Kristyna Jeskeova earned two of the three Big West Specialty Awards as she collected Best Defensive Player and Best Hustle Player. Additionally, she earned Honorable Mention status and a nod to the All-Defensive Team.
• Redshirt junior guard Ma'Qhi Berry was also named to the All-Defensive Team. Berry also garnered All-Big West Second Team accolades.
• Senior Malia Bambrick and junior Kianna Hamilton-Fisher rounded out the Beach All-Conference awards as they collected Honorable Mention status.
• As a team, Long Beach State is averaging 62.5 points per game for a scoring margin of +5.8 as their opponents are averaging 56.8 points per game.
• Offensively, the Beach are shooting 43.1 percent from the field, a mark that is second in The Big West.
• The Beach lead The Big West in free throw percentage (77.5), three-point field goal percent defense (28.6), steals per game (11.5), turnover margin (+6.1), and assist/turnover ratio (1.0).
• This season, LBSU is averaging 29.4 rebounds per game, while adding 13.4 assists per game, and 3.0 blocks per game.
• LBSU has three double-figure scorers on the squad in Tori Harris (13.5 ppg), Malia Bambrick (12.1 ppg), and Kianna Hamilton-Fisher (10.9 ppg).
• Hamilton-Fisher also leads the team with a 45.0 field goal percentage which is good for third in The Big West, while Harris' field goal percentage of 44.2 ranks her fourth in the conference. Meanwhile, Bambrick's 44.9 field goal percentage is good for sixth in the league.
• Redshirt senior guard Ma'Qhi Berry has been a key component to Long Beach State's success as she leads the way with 118 assists, 63 steals and 16 blocks. She also contributes 8.9 points per game and 4.0 rebounds per game. Berry leads the Big West in assists per game (4.44), while ranking third in assist/turnover ratio (1.46), and second in steals per game (2.40).
• In the game at UC Santa Barbara on February 9, 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
• No. 10 seed UC Riverside upset No. 7 seed Cal Poly in The Big West Championships first round, 63-54, bringing the Highlanders' overall record to 6-25.
• The victory snaps an eight-game losing streak as the Highlanders picked up their first win since defeating Cal State Fullerton, 66-63, on February 4.
• As a team, the Highlanders are averaging 51.5 points per game, while allowing 60.3 points per game on a 33.0 field goal percentage.
• UC Riverside averages 31.8 rebounds, 9.5 assists, 15.4 turnovers, 7.5 steals, and 2.7 blocks per game.
• UCR is led offensively by Jordan Webster who averages 13.0 points per game. She also leads the team with 54 steals. Additionally, Webster contributes 4.2 rebounds per game to go along with 25 assists, and seven blocks.
• Matehya Bryant is the Highlanders' leading rebounder as she averages 7.1 boards per game to go along with 9.2 points per game, while totaling a team-best 26. She also adds 47 steals, and 25 assists on the season.
• RyAnne Walters has dished out a team-leading 71 assists this season to go along with 4.9 points per game and 2.2 rebounds per game. She has also amassed 37 steals and two blocks this year.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Highlanders
Long Beach State and UC Riverside will meet for the 52nd time in program history. In the all-time series, the Beach leads the series 26-25. LBSU has won the last two against the Highlanders, sweeping them earlier this season with a 73-62 victory at UCR on Dec. 31 and a 68-58 win over the Highlanders in Long Beach, Calif. When playing each other in The Big West Championships, however, UC Riverside leads the series 4-0. The last time the Beach and the Highlanders met in The Big West Championship was in 2019, and UCR defeated LBSU, 67-50, at the Bren Events Center.

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 their win over UC Riverside on February 15, Long Beach State earned its 1,000th program victory in the 58 years of the program's existence. The Beach are now 1004-620 overall for a .618 winning percentage.

A Grand Trio
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 on February 4, the first marking the milestone, as she went on to finish with 12 points in LBSU's 52-50 win. Berry has now amassed 1,106 points in her career and has moved into 21st place in the all-time record book. Joining Berry in the 1,000 point club were teammates Courtney Murphy and Tori Harris who both reached the milestone last Saturday at CSUN. Murphy, who played four years at Seattle U before transferring to Long Beach for her master's degree recorded her 1,000th career point in her Division I career with a triple in the first quarter at CSUN. 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, scored her 1,000th career point in her Division I career in the second quarter at CSUN as she completed a three-point play to reach her milestone.

Hot Streak
Long Beach State went on a 15-game winning streak during Big West action. The last time LBSU women's basketball won 15 in a row was during the 2014-15 season when the squad went 22-10 and made an appearance in the WNIT. The longest winning streak ever in LBSU Women's Basketball history sits at a whopping 23, a record set by the 1988-89 team that went 30-5 and advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.

20/20 Vision
With a win over UC Santa Barbara, the Long Beach State Women's Basketball team secured its 20th win of the season as LBSU closed out the regular season with a 22-8 overall record. The 20-win season marks the first in head coach Jeff Cammon's tenure and the first for the program since the 2016-17 season in which they finished the year 23-11 overall, won the Big West Championship, and punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament. In program history, Long Beach State Women's Basketball has recorded 20 wins 18 times, while reaching the 30-win plateau twice.

Success On and Off the Court
The 2022-23 Academic All-District Women's Basketball Team, selected by College Sports Communicators (CSC), was announced on Tuesday and Long Beach State boasted three players who were recognized in sophomore guard Patricia Chung, junior guard Kristyna Jeskeova, and graduate student guard Courtney Murphy. The award recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America program separately recognizes women's basketball honorees in four divisions – NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and NAIA. Chung was selected to the Academic All-District team after posting a 3.89 GPA as a psychology major.Jeskeova, a psychology major with a 3.70 GPA, earned the honors after leading the Beach in rebounding (6.7 rpg), steals (63), and blocks (20). Murphy currently owns a 4.00 GPA at Long Beach State as she works towards a Master's Degree in sports management, after having graduated from Seattle University with an undergraduate GPA of 3.77.

Adams and the Next Generation
The Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced Tuesday morning the coaches who will be participating in the inaugural Next Generation Institute and Long Beach State's Kevin Adams was one of the 21 coaches selected. The WBCA Next Generation Institute is a new high-level education program for experienced assistant coaches who aspire to become head coaches at the NCAA Division I, II, and III levels. The Next Generation Institute curriculum focuses on the CEO attributes needed to lead a program and be a problem-solver in today's ever-changing landscape of higher education and the enterprise of intercollegiate athletics. Adams is currently in his sixth season as an assistant coach at Long Beach State where he has been an integral part of the program's development. With Adams' on the sidelines, the Beach owns a 19-7 overall record and is 14-2 in Big West action as they sit atop the standings. Additionally, LBSU is in the midst of a 12-game winning streak, the program's longest such streak since the 1986-87 season. To be eligible for selection to participate in the program, a person must be a current WBCA member, must have at least five years' experience as a college assistant coach, and must have been nominated by their head coach. Participants will meet prior to (virtually), during (in person), and after (virtually) the 2023 WBCA Convention. The convention takes place March 31-April 2 in Dallas.

Next Up
Should Long Beach State defeat No. 10 Seed UC Riverside, the Beach will advance to The Big West Championship Semifinals game which is scheduled for Friday, March 10.

Calendar

No. 2 Seed Long Beach State Ready for The Big West Quarterfinals Against No. 10 Seed UC Riverside

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Players Mentioned

Malia Bambrick

Ma'Qhi Berry

Patricia Chung

Kianna Hamilton-Fisher

Tori Harris

Kristyna Jeskeova

Courtney Murphy

Long Beach State University Athletics