Saturday, March 2
Long Beach, Calif.
2:00 PM
Long Beach State University
12-16,7-11Big West
76
vs
86
UC Irvine
19-8,13-4Big West
1
2
3
4
OT 1
F
UC Irvine
15
14
18
23
16
86
Long Beach St.
16
10
16
28
6
76
Photo by: John Fajardo
Long Beach State’s Rally Comes Up Short In Overtime Loss To UC Irvine on Senior Day
3/2/2024 6:36:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Despite the loss, the Beach secure a spot in the 2024 Big West Women’s Basketball Championship
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Long Beach State rallied to erase an 11-point deficit and force overtime against UC Irvine, but came up short in an 86-76 overtime loss on Saturday at the Walter Pyramid.
Despite the setback, the Beach (12-16, 7-11 Big West) still secured a spot in the 2024 Big West Women's Basketball Championship in Henderson, Nev. The postseason begins Wednesday, March 13 at the Dollar Loan Center.
After LBSU scored 28 points in the fourth quarter to even the score and force overtime, the Anteaters (19-8, 14-4 Big West) outscored the Beach 16-6 to push ahead and earn the win thanks in part to a 29-point performance from Deja Lee and a double-double from Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba as she finished with 20 points and 12 boards.
The Beach were led by Sydney Woodley who tied her career-high with 21 points, while adding nine rebounds, two steals, and one assist.
Woodley led three Long Beach State scorers in double-figures as Patricia Chung finished the match with 12 and Cheyenne Givens added 11 on her Senior Day.
Casey Valenti-Paea handled the ball well as she distributed a career-high 11 assists to go along with three points, two rebounds, one steal, and one block.
Davai Matthews just missed a double-double with nine rebounds and eight points, before fouling out. In addition to Matthews fouling out, Chung and Jada Crawshaw also left the court early with five fouls each as the Beach found themselves in foul trouble.
UCI took advantage of LBSU's fouls and scored 22 points off of free throws, with eight of their 16 overtime points coming from the charity stripe.
The game began close as the two teams traded points early on. Long Beach State took a 14-13 lead on a three from Savannah Tucker at 1:23 before going into the second quarter with a 16-15 edge.
The Anteaters opened the second quarter with five-straight points to go up 20-16 by 8:27. After the Beach pulled within one, UCI went on a 7-0 run to extend its lead to 29-22 at 3:41. By halftime, Long Beach State closed the gap and trailed by just three (29-26).
UC Irvine went on an 8-0 run in the second half as the Anteaters took a 42-31 lead over Long Beach State at 4:20 on the clock in the third quarter. The Beach countered with five-straight point to make it a two-possession game (42-36) by 2:13, but UCI extended its lead back up to nine (45-36) with just over one minute left. That did not stop LBSU as it used a 6-0 run capped by a triple from Givens to pull within three (45-42) with 23 seconds remaining in the frame. By the time the clock expired, UCI held a five-point (47-42) advantage going into the fourth quarter.
The Beach made a push in the fourth as they shot 55.6 (10-18) from the field, with five of those coming from behind the arc. Although, the Anteaters scored 23 points in the frame on 53.8 (7-13) shooting, Long Beach would not back down. The Beach matched the Anteaters point-for-point, three-for-three, and run-for-run.
With less than a minute left in regulation, Chung drained a three tie the game at 67-all. A steal from Crawshaw followed by a driving layup for Woodley gave LBSU its first lead since the first half. The Beach held a 70-68 edge over the Anteaters with 13 seconds remaining, but UCI managed to tie the game on a driving layup from Lee with only seven ticks left on the clock.
In overtime, the Beach's offense went cold. Long Beach State connected on just one field goal as it shot 14.3 percent in the frame. Meanwhile, UCI took advantage of the seven fouls committed by the Beach as the Anteaters scored half of their 16 points from the line to win by 10 (86-76).
Long Beach State heads into the final week of the regular season with UC Santa Barbara and UC Davis on the docket. The Beach and the Gauchos will tip-off at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 7 in Santa Barbara, before LBSU faces the Aggies on the road on Saturday, March 9 at 1 p.m. Both games will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Despite the setback, the Beach (12-16, 7-11 Big West) still secured a spot in the 2024 Big West Women's Basketball Championship in Henderson, Nev. The postseason begins Wednesday, March 13 at the Dollar Loan Center.
After LBSU scored 28 points in the fourth quarter to even the score and force overtime, the Anteaters (19-8, 14-4 Big West) outscored the Beach 16-6 to push ahead and earn the win thanks in part to a 29-point performance from Deja Lee and a double-double from Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba as she finished with 20 points and 12 boards.
The Beach were led by Sydney Woodley who tied her career-high with 21 points, while adding nine rebounds, two steals, and one assist.
Sydney Woodley gets the steal and layup to give @LBSUWBB the lead #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/vmQfZ9OVnx
— LBSU W Basketball (@LBSUWBB) March 2, 2024
Woodley led three Long Beach State scorers in double-figures as Patricia Chung finished the match with 12 and Cheyenne Givens added 11 on her Senior Day.
Cheyenne Gives for 3? #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/8jLf7AWspV
— LBSU W Basketball (@LBSUWBB) March 2, 2024
Casey Valenti-Paea handled the ball well as she distributed a career-high 11 assists to go along with three points, two rebounds, one steal, and one block.
Davai Matthews just missed a double-double with nine rebounds and eight points, before fouling out. In addition to Matthews fouling out, Chung and Jada Crawshaw also left the court early with five fouls each as the Beach found themselves in foul trouble.
UCI took advantage of LBSU's fouls and scored 22 points off of free throws, with eight of their 16 overtime points coming from the charity stripe.
The game began close as the two teams traded points early on. Long Beach State took a 14-13 lead on a three from Savannah Tucker at 1:23 before going into the second quarter with a 16-15 edge.
The Anteaters opened the second quarter with five-straight points to go up 20-16 by 8:27. After the Beach pulled within one, UCI went on a 7-0 run to extend its lead to 29-22 at 3:41. By halftime, Long Beach State closed the gap and trailed by just three (29-26).
UC Irvine went on an 8-0 run in the second half as the Anteaters took a 42-31 lead over Long Beach State at 4:20 on the clock in the third quarter. The Beach countered with five-straight point to make it a two-possession game (42-36) by 2:13, but UCI extended its lead back up to nine (45-36) with just over one minute left. That did not stop LBSU as it used a 6-0 run capped by a triple from Givens to pull within three (45-42) with 23 seconds remaining in the frame. By the time the clock expired, UCI held a five-point (47-42) advantage going into the fourth quarter.
The Beach made a push in the fourth as they shot 55.6 (10-18) from the field, with five of those coming from behind the arc. Although, the Anteaters scored 23 points in the frame on 53.8 (7-13) shooting, Long Beach would not back down. The Beach matched the Anteaters point-for-point, three-for-three, and run-for-run.
With less than a minute left in regulation, Chung drained a three tie the game at 67-all. A steal from Crawshaw followed by a driving layup for Woodley gave LBSU its first lead since the first half. The Beach held a 70-68 edge over the Anteaters with 13 seconds remaining, but UCI managed to tie the game on a driving layup from Lee with only seven ticks left on the clock.
Cheyenne Gives for 3? #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/8jLf7AWspV
— LBSU W Basketball (@LBSUWBB) March 2, 2024
In overtime, the Beach's offense went cold. Long Beach State connected on just one field goal as it shot 14.3 percent in the frame. Meanwhile, UCI took advantage of the seven fouls committed by the Beach as the Anteaters scored half of their 16 points from the line to win by 10 (86-76).
Long Beach State heads into the final week of the regular season with UC Santa Barbara and UC Davis on the docket. The Beach and the Gauchos will tip-off at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 7 in Santa Barbara, before LBSU faces the Aggies on the road on Saturday, March 9 at 1 p.m. Both games will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Irvine
LBSU
FG%
.424
.433
3FG%
.533
.533
FT%
.595
.615
RB
44
36
TO
14
19
STL
10
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
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