Saturday, November 9
Long Beach, Calif.
2:00 PM
Long Beach State University
1-0,0-0Big West
67
vs
65
William & Mary
0-2,0-0CAA
1
2
3
4
F
William & Mary
21
16
15
13
65
Long Beach St.
13
21
14
19
67
Photo by: John Fajardo
Long Beach State Earns An Exciting Season-Opening Win Against William & Mary
11/9/2024 5:09:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Three Beach players score in double-figures to lift LBSU over William & Mary
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Freshman forward Mykelle Richards scored what would be the game-winner with 20.4 seconds left to play as Long Beach State defeated William & Mary, 67-65, in the season opener on Saturday afternoon at the Walter Pyramid.
Long Beach State (1-0) shot 40.0% from the field and outrebounded William & Mary (0-2), 49-46. The Beach were led offensively by senior guard Lovely Sonnier, as well as freshmen Mykelle Richards and JaQuoia Jones-Brown. Sonnier finished the game with a team-leading 13 points, while Richards added 12, and Jones Brown chipped in 10.
Sonnier also led the Beach, along with sophomore forward Jada Crawshaw, with eight rebounds. Crawshaw contributed on both sides of the ball with eight points as well.
William & Mary jumped out in front early as the Tribe led the Beach by as many as 10 points (18-8) in the first quarter. The Tribe held a 21-13 lead over LBSU at the end of the opening frame.
The Beach chipped away at W&M's lead and tied the game twice in the second quarter. Jones-Brown evened the score at 31-all with 2:44 on the clock as she reached double-figures in her collegiate debut. However, William & Mary broke the tie after scoring six-consecutive points to take a 37-31 lead with 36.9 seconds remaining. Patricia Chung brought the game back to a one-possession affair after draining a three with 31 seconds to go to send the Beach into the locker room at halftime down by just three (37-34).
Long Beach State came out and tied the game at 40-40 after back-to-back buckets from Crawshaw at 8:34. The Tribe broke the tie and took a five-points advantage (49-44) with 3:02 on the clock. But Richards, would hit a three just 40 seconds later to make it a one-possession game once again forcing W&M to calla timeout. Despite the Beach's efforts, William & Mary held a 52-48 lead at the end of the third quarter.
LBSU was quick to respond at the start of the fourth quarter as the Beach knocked down a pair of early buckets to tie things up 52-all at 9:22. The momentum seemed to shift in the fourth quarter as Long Beach State went on a 7-0 run to take a three-point lead (59-56) over the Tribe with 5:32 on the clock. The two teams battled out the final five minutes and found themselves knotted at 65-65 with 90 seconds remaining. As the clock whittled down, Savannah Tucker's layup just missed but Richards was there for the putback that put the Beach on top 67-65 with just 20.4 seconds remaining. The Tribe attempted a three-pointer at the buzzer, but it fell short as Long Beach State earned their first victory of the 2024-25 season.
Bella Nascimento led the Tribe with 21 points and 12 rebounds, while Natalie Fox and Anahi-Lee Cauley each recorded 10 points in the game. Cauley also led William & Mary with six boards, while Monet Dance dished out five assists.
Long Beach State will hit the road for its next four contests. First up for the Beach a game at Pacific on Friday, Nov. 15 at 6 p.m. in Stockton, Calif.
Mykelle Richards' put back gives the Beach a 67-65 lead with just 20.4 seconds remaining #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/D941u0RHHC
— LBSU W Basketball (@LBSUWBB) November 9, 2024
Long Beach State (1-0) shot 40.0% from the field and outrebounded William & Mary (0-2), 49-46. The Beach were led offensively by senior guard Lovely Sonnier, as well as freshmen Mykelle Richards and JaQuoia Jones-Brown. Sonnier finished the game with a team-leading 13 points, while Richards added 12, and Jones Brown chipped in 10.
Sonnier also led the Beach, along with sophomore forward Jada Crawshaw, with eight rebounds. Crawshaw contributed on both sides of the ball with eight points as well.
A clutch 3 from Lovely Sonnier gives Long Beach State the lead! #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/bYVpbJPKPz
— LBSU W Basketball (@LBSUWBB) November 9, 2024
William & Mary jumped out in front early as the Tribe led the Beach by as many as 10 points (18-8) in the first quarter. The Tribe held a 21-13 lead over LBSU at the end of the opening frame.
The Beach chipped away at W&M's lead and tied the game twice in the second quarter. Jones-Brown evened the score at 31-all with 2:44 on the clock as she reached double-figures in her collegiate debut. However, William & Mary broke the tie after scoring six-consecutive points to take a 37-31 lead with 36.9 seconds remaining. Patricia Chung brought the game back to a one-possession affair after draining a three with 31 seconds to go to send the Beach into the locker room at halftime down by just three (37-34).
Long Beach State came out and tied the game at 40-40 after back-to-back buckets from Crawshaw at 8:34. The Tribe broke the tie and took a five-points advantage (49-44) with 3:02 on the clock. But Richards, would hit a three just 40 seconds later to make it a one-possession game once again forcing W&M to calla timeout. Despite the Beach's efforts, William & Mary held a 52-48 lead at the end of the third quarter.
LBSU was quick to respond at the start of the fourth quarter as the Beach knocked down a pair of early buckets to tie things up 52-all at 9:22. The momentum seemed to shift in the fourth quarter as Long Beach State went on a 7-0 run to take a three-point lead (59-56) over the Tribe with 5:32 on the clock. The two teams battled out the final five minutes and found themselves knotted at 65-65 with 90 seconds remaining. As the clock whittled down, Savannah Tucker's layup just missed but Richards was there for the putback that put the Beach on top 67-65 with just 20.4 seconds remaining. The Tribe attempted a three-pointer at the buzzer, but it fell short as Long Beach State earned their first victory of the 2024-25 season.
Bella Nascimento led the Tribe with 21 points and 12 rebounds, while Natalie Fox and Anahi-Lee Cauley each recorded 10 points in the game. Cauley also led William & Mary with six boards, while Monet Dance dished out five assists.
Long Beach State will hit the road for its next four contests. First up for the Beach a game at Pacific on Friday, Nov. 15 at 6 p.m. in Stockton, Calif.
Team Stats
W&M
LBSU
FG%
.325
.400
3FG%
.233
.313
FT%
.727
.714
RB
46
49
TO
18
23
STL
9
8
Game Leaders
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
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