Thursday, January 4
Long Beach, Calif.
7:00 PM
Long Beach State University
6-7,1-2Big West
56
vs
64
Cal Poly
7-6,3-0Big West
1
2
3
4
F
Cal Poly
16
13
10
25
64
Long Beach St.
18
5
13
20
56
Photo by: John Fajardo
Long Beach State Falls To Cal Poly, 64-56
1/4/2024 10:18:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Neither team led by more than nine points in the closely contested game
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Long Beach State and Cal Poly battled each other on Thursday night at the Walter Pyramid in a closely contested match that saw the Mustangs come out on top, 64-56.
The Beach (6-7, 1-2 Big West) shot 36.0 (18-50) from the field, while the Mustangs (7-6, 3-0 Big West) connected on 23-of-54 field goals for a 42.6 shooting percentage. The game was evenly matched with neither team leading by more than nine points throughout the contest.
The game started out close, but Cal Poly used an 8-0 in the first to go up 10-5 over the Beach. Long Beach State countered with seven-straight points of their own to take a two-point lead (14-12) at 3:28 on a three from Savannah Tucker. LBSU would hold an 18-16 edge over Cal Poly heading into the second quarter.
The Beach struggled offensively in the second as they were unable to make any of their 10 field goal attempts. LBSU was limited to just five points in the frame, all of which came from the charity stripe. The Mustangs used the Beach's offensive woes to their advantage and took a six-point (29-23) lead at halftime.
Long Beach State came out of the locker room looking reinvigorated as the Beach opened the frame on a 10-0, which was jumpstarted by back-to-back threes from Lovely Sonnier and Tucker. The Beach held a 33-29 lead at the end of the run at 7:32, however, Cal Poly would come back and even the score at 33-all at 5:57 on a second-chance layup by Annika Shah. By the end of the quarter, Cal Poly was back on top, 39-36.
In the fourth quarter, Long Beach cut Cal Poly's lead down to one on three separate occasions. Tucker made both her free throws at 7:25 to bring the Beach within one (44-43) for the final time. After that, the Mustangs added to their lead and pulled ahead by nine (57-48) for their largest lead of the night with 1:23 remaining. Despite the Beach's efforts, Cal Poly came away with the 64-56 win.
Tucker led LBSU with 13 points, while Casey Valenti Paea added 12 points to go along with a team-leading five assists. Patricia Chung chipped in eight points, five boards, and two steals, while Davai Matthews led the squad with eight rebounds, while adding seven points, one assists, and one block.
LBSU was hampered by 25 turnovers and Cal Poly capitalized on that scoring 17 points off turnovers. The Mustangs also tallied 36 points in the paint and 10 second-chance points.
Cal Poly was led by Shah and Natalia Ackerman who each finished with 18 points and four rebounds. Ania McNicholas led the Mustangs with five rebounds, five assists, and three steals, while adding six points.
Long Beach State will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 6 at UC Riverside. First serve is set for 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
The Beach (6-7, 1-2 Big West) shot 36.0 (18-50) from the field, while the Mustangs (7-6, 3-0 Big West) connected on 23-of-54 field goals for a 42.6 shooting percentage. The game was evenly matched with neither team leading by more than nine points throughout the contest.
The game started out close, but Cal Poly used an 8-0 in the first to go up 10-5 over the Beach. Long Beach State countered with seven-straight points of their own to take a two-point lead (14-12) at 3:28 on a three from Savannah Tucker. LBSU would hold an 18-16 edge over Cal Poly heading into the second quarter.
The Beach struggled offensively in the second as they were unable to make any of their 10 field goal attempts. LBSU was limited to just five points in the frame, all of which came from the charity stripe. The Mustangs used the Beach's offensive woes to their advantage and took a six-point (29-23) lead at halftime.
Long Beach State came out of the locker room looking reinvigorated as the Beach opened the frame on a 10-0, which was jumpstarted by back-to-back threes from Lovely Sonnier and Tucker. The Beach held a 33-29 lead at the end of the run at 7:32, however, Cal Poly would come back and even the score at 33-all at 5:57 on a second-chance layup by Annika Shah. By the end of the quarter, Cal Poly was back on top, 39-36.
The Beach start the second half hot! #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/Gk1uFkIBSK
— LBSU W Basketball (@LBSUWBB) January 5, 2024
In the fourth quarter, Long Beach cut Cal Poly's lead down to one on three separate occasions. Tucker made both her free throws at 7:25 to bring the Beach within one (44-43) for the final time. After that, the Mustangs added to their lead and pulled ahead by nine (57-48) for their largest lead of the night with 1:23 remaining. Despite the Beach's efforts, Cal Poly came away with the 64-56 win.
Tucker led LBSU with 13 points, while Casey Valenti Paea added 12 points to go along with a team-leading five assists. Patricia Chung chipped in eight points, five boards, and two steals, while Davai Matthews led the squad with eight rebounds, while adding seven points, one assists, and one block.
A triple from Savannah Tucker gives the Beach the lead! #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/oqDBLHV1aZ
— LBSU W Basketball (@LBSUWBB) January 5, 2024
LBSU was hampered by 25 turnovers and Cal Poly capitalized on that scoring 17 points off turnovers. The Mustangs also tallied 36 points in the paint and 10 second-chance points.
Cal Poly was led by Shah and Natalia Ackerman who each finished with 18 points and four rebounds. Ania McNicholas led the Mustangs with five rebounds, five assists, and three steals, while adding six points.
Long Beach State will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 6 at UC Riverside. First serve is set for 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Team Stats
CPO
LBSU
FG%
.426
.360
3FG%
.176
.263
FT%
.714
.652
RB
31
35
TO
19
25
STL
11
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
13
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball'24 '25 Women's Basketball Home Schedule Reveal
Thursday, August 29
Get To Know: 24-25 Women's Basketball Newest Members
Wednesday, August 14
Women's Basketball Post Game Press Conference vs UC Irvine
Sunday, March 03
Women's Basketball Post Game Press Conference vs Hawaii
Sunday, February 25
