Beach Basketball Closes The Regular Season On The Road At UC Davis

LONG BEACH STATE (13-16, 8-11 Big West) at UC DAVIS (16-13, 12-7 Big West)
Date: Saturday, March 9
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Location: Davis, Calif.
Venue: University Credit Union Center
TV: ESPN+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
Twitter: @LBSUWBB

Beach Basketball Closes The Regular Season On The Road At UC Davis
After clinching a spot in The 2024 Big West Championship last week, the Long Beach State Women's Basketball team secured the No. 7 seed with a victory over UC Santa Barbara on Thursday. LBSU will now face UC Davis in the final regular season game of the year. The Beach and the Aggies will play in Davis, Calif., on Saturday, March 9 for a 1 p.m. tip-off.

Catch All the Action
The Long Beach State-UC Davis game will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Fans can sign up for ESPN+ for $9.99 per month ($99.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNPlus.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 $14.99 per month (Hulu with ads) or $24.99 per month (Hulu without ads). Fans can also follow live stats 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.

About the Beach
• Long Beach State brings a 13-16 overall record and an 8-11 Big West mark into the final game of the regular season.
• The Beach went 1-1 last week with a crucial victory over Cal State Fullerton on the road. Despite a thrilling overtime loss against UC Irvine, LBSU still managed to secure its spot in The 2024 Big West Championship. Following an exciting road win at UCSB on Thursday, Long Beach State secured the No. 7 seed in The Big West Championship.
• LBSU opened the 2023-24 campaign with an 82-62 victory over Biola marking the first of Head Coach Amy Wright's collegiate coaching career.
• Long Beach State has had a few key wins this season knocking off Nevada in convincing fashion, 79-52, before handing Colorado State their first loss of the year as the Beach earned their first-ever win over the Rams with an exciting 77-76 victory.
• The Beach have won half a dozen Big West contests this season with two of those wins coming against CSUN and Cal State Bakersfield. LBSU's other conference wins came against UC Riverside and UC Davis.
• Long Beach State's motto is to play "Fast, Furious, and Fun." So far, the Beach has showcased a fast offense as they average 67.1 points per game to lead the conference, while boasting a furious defense as junior guard Sydney Woodley leads The Big West in steals per game (3.38). Additionally, the Beach brings a lot of fun both on and off the court as the team goes out into the stands after every home game for a "3-Minute Drill" in which they meet and mingle with the fans.
• Long Beach State is led by Savannah Tucker's 12.4 points per game, while boasting a free throw percentage of 81.3 which is good for fourth in the conference.
• Junior guard Sydney Woodley leads the Beach in steals with 91. She is now averaging a Big West-leading 3.38 steals per game, which ranks her fourth in the nation. Additionally, she is the team's second-leading scorer with 10.7 points per game on a 46.5 field goal percentage to come in fifth in the conference. Lastly, Woodley's 2.08 offensive rebounds per game put her in the Top 10 in The Big West.
• Senior Casey Valenti-Paea had a career night on Dec. 16 against Pacific as she poured in a career-best 20 points. With her hot offensive output, Valenti-Paea is now averaging 9.5 points per game to rank third on the team. She adds 3.7 rebounds per game. Valenti-Paea is coming off of a career game in which she dished out a career-high 11 assists against UC Irvine. She now owns 69 assists to rank second on the squad.
• So far this season, junior Patricia Chung has recorded a trio of career-highs as she dished out eight assists in the season opener against Biola before picking up 10 rebounds against Colorado State on Dec. 15. She had a career game against Cal State Bakersfield in which she poured in a career-best 24 points on Feb. 1. She contributes 8.4 points per game and 29 steals, while leading the team in assists (74), and adding 4.6 rebounds per game.
• Sophomore forward Davai Matthews recorded her first-career double-double performance at Cal State Bakersfield on Feb. 22 as she helped the Beach to a 69-67 road victory with 10 points and 10 boards. On the year, Matthews is averaging 4.6 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per game to go along with 25 assists, 22 blocks, and 21 steals.
• True freshman Jada Crawshaw has been a key component to Long Beach State as she has come off the bench in all 29 games this season and leads the team lead in rebounding (5.1 rpg) and sets the standard blocks per game (0.86) as her blocking average is good for eighth in The Big West. She also chips in 6.1 points per game, while adding 29 steals and 16 assists. She currently leads LBSU with two double-doubles on the year.
• Joining Coach Wright on the bench this season is a brand new coaching staff comprised of Brian Rosario, Jashae Lee, and Raru Archer, while Brittany Klaman will be the squad's director of operations.
• The Beach were been picked to finish seventh in the Big West Preseason Coaches Poll with a total of 45 points. Hawaii, which garnered 95 points and six first-place votes was chosen as the league winner. Meanwhile UC Irvine (88 points, two first-place votes) and UC Davis (85 points, three first-place votes) were expected to finish second and third to round out the top three.

Player Notes
• Lauren Cummings is a freshman guard who hails from Billings, Mont. The 6-foot Cummings made her collegiate debut in the season opener against Biola and recorded her first career rebound. On Dec. 28, in the Beach's conference opener, she collected her first career points of her collegiate career. She has played in 22 games so far and is averaging 0.8 rebounds per game and 0.2 points per game,
• Lovely Sonnier came to the Beach after playing two years at South Carolina State. The junior guard has played in 24 games, while making 15 starts for LBSU this season. On the year, she is averaging 4.9 points per game and 3.4 rebounds per game, while also adding 23 assists, 21 steals, and 12 blocks.
• Junior guard Savannah Tucker is Long Beach State's leading scorer as she is averaging 12.3 points per game on a 37.5 field goal percentage. She also adds 99 boards, 34 assists, 29 steals, and eight blocks.
• Patricia Chung poured in a career-high 24 points against Cal State Bakersfield on Feb. 1. After her monster game, Chung's scoring averaging went up to 8.3 points per game. She also adds 4.7 rebounds per game, to go along with a team-best 69 assists, while adding 29 steals.
• Cheyenne Givens is a graduate transfer who has been heating up offensively. She turned in a career-high tying 19-point performance against at CSUN on Dec. 30. Givens averages 8.9 points per game, while adding 2.4 rebounds per game, to go along with 29 steals, 43 assists, and five blocks.
• Kennan Ka earned the start in the Long Beach State season opener against Biola and played in two minutes and 30 seconds before leaving the court due to a season-ending injury.
• After redshirting for the Beach a year ago, Casey Valenti-Paea made her long awaited LBSU debut against Biola and earned her first start in Black and Gold against Nevada. She turned in a career-best performance with 20 points versus Pacific on Dec. 16 to bring her points per game average up to 9.6. She also contributes 3.6 rebounds per game. She distributed a career-high 11 assists against UC Irvine to bring her season total to 67. She also adds 60 steals and nine blocks on the year.
• Jada Crawshaw, a freshman from Darwin, Australia, made her collegiate debut in the LBSU season opener against Biola on Nov. 8. She has since found her groove averaging 6.4 points per game and leading the team in rebounds per game (5.2) to go along with a team-leading 24 blocks.
• Sophomore forward Abby Shoff has come off the bench in six of Long Beach's games this season and is averaging 4.8 rebounds per game. However, she will be unavailable tonight due to an injury to her foot.
• Sydney Woodley has started in all 26 games in which she's played. She is the Beach's leader in steals with 88 swipes to average a conference-leading 3.38 steals per game. That mark is good for fourth in the nation. Additionally, Woodley is averaging 10.5 points per game and 4.7 rebounds per game, to go along with 47 assists and one block.
• Olivia Moore redshirted last season at Long Beach State and made her collegiate debut for the Beach in the season opener against Biola. On the year she is averaging 1.6 points per game and 0.8 rebounds per game, while totaling six assists, four steals, and two blocks in 26 games played.
• Davai Matthews came back to Long Beach State after seeing limited action last year due to an injury. She has played in all 28 games thus far and has made 15 starts. On the year, Matthews is averaging 4.9 rebounds per game and 4.3 points per game, to go along with 22 blocks, 25 assists, and 20 steals.

Scouting UC Davis
• UC Davis comes into the game against the Beach with a 16-13 overall record. The Aggies are 12-7 in The Big West.
• The Aggies are coming off of a 64-56 win over UC San Diego on Thursday. UC Davis has won three of its last four contests.
• With a 12-7 league record, the Aggies have already clinched a spot in The Big West Championship. The UC Davis, however, is playing for seeding as they could be a No. 3, 4, or 5 seed in the tournament.
• In The Big West preseason poll, UC Davis was chosen to finish in third place. The Aggies garnered three first-place votes for a total of 85 points in the poll.
• As a team, UC Davis is averaging 62.4 points per game, while allowing 61.2 for a scoring margin of +1.1.
• From the field, UC Davis is shooting 41.8 percent to go along with 35.8 rebounds per game. Additionally, the Aggies average 14.3 assists, 16.3 turnovers, 7.0 steals, and 3.2 blocks per game this season.
• The Aggies have three double-figure scorers in Evanne Turner (14.2 ppg), Tova Sabel (13.9 ppg), and Megan Norris (10.5 ppg).
• Norris also leads the team in rebounding (7.5 rpg) and blocks (28), while adding 47 assists and 17 steals.
• Sydney Burns is the squad's leader in assists (105) and steals (30). She also contributes 5.9 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.

The Series: The Beach vs. The Aggies
Long Beach State and UC Davis will meet for the 46th time in program history. Overall, the Aggies lead the all-time series 23-22. Saturday's contest marks the second of the season between the Beach and the Aggies. Earlier this season, LBSU defeated UC Davis, 78-52, at the Walter Pyramid on February 15. When playing each other in Davis, Calif., the Aggies hold the edge in the series, 12-8.

Fast, Furious, and Fun
When asked what to expect from the Beach this season, sophomore forward Abby Shoff responded, "Fast, furious, and fun! That's really what we are. We're very energized. You can tell we're having a lot of fun out there."

Coach Wright expanded saying, "(The fans) should expect games in the 80s and 90s. A lot of threes going up. A lot of quick buckets. Playing fast is us trying to score between 8-12 seconds on the shot clock. So, we want to get the ball up and take a really good shot. We want to share the basketball.

"Furious is defensively, we want to get after you," Wright continued. "We want to create havoc on that end. We've got to have a chip on our shoulder. Not necessarily playing mad, but playing hectic. Playing with intentionality of being disruptive.

"And finally, fun explains itself. This is a game. The players should be having fun. The coaches should be having fun. The fans should be having fun. If we're playing the game the right way, it's going to be fun."

20/20 Vision
Junior guard Savannah Tucker wasted no time dropping 20 points as she kicked off the 2023-24 season scoring a career-high 25 points against Biola. At No. 5 Texas, Tucker went off again for 22 points to lead all scorers. Most recently, the product out of Fresno, Calif., recorded her third 20-point contest of the season in a 69-67 win at Cal State Bakersfield.

Tucker has now recorded four 20-plus point showings of her career as she previously dropped 20 at UC Riverside on March 5, 2022 during her freshman campaign. Now as a junior, Tucker has started in every game thus far and is the Beach's leading scorer with 12.3 points per game.

Tucker isn't the only Long Beach State player dropping 20 points. On December 16 against Pacific, senior guard Casey Valenti-Paea recorded a career-best 20 points. Against the Tigers, Valenti-Paea shot 57.1 (8-14) from the field and 60.0 (3-5) from long distance to lead the Beach. With her solid offensive showing, she is now averaging 9.6 points per game on the year.

On Thursday, Feb. 1, Patricia Chung poured in a career-high 24 points against Cal State Bakersfield. The senior guard connected on 10-of-15 field goals and 4-of-6 from long distance. On the year, Chung is averaging 8.3 points per game and 4.7 rebounds per game, while adding 69 assists and 29 steals.

On Saturday Feb. 17, Sydney Woodley joined the 20-plus point club as she set a new career-high for herself tallying 21 points in an 86-62 victory over CSUN. Woodley matched that career mark with 21 points against UC Irvine on March 2. She is now averaging 10.5 points per game to come in second on the team.

Double-Double Toil And Trouble
This season Long Beach State has seen four separate players record a double-double. Freshman Jada Crawshaw was the first to record that feat as she tallied 12 points and 10 rebounds in her first collegiate double-double against then-No. 6 USC on December 21. Crawshaw is the only LBSU Women's Basketball player with two double-doubles this year after notching a career-high 15 points and 12 rebounds on Feb. 1 against Bakersfield.

Junior Sydney Woodley recorded her first double-double in a Beach uniform against her former team, CSUN, on Dec. 31 when she finished with 12 points and 10 boards in Northridge.

Casey Valenti-Paea notched a double-double of 11 points and 10 boards at UC Riverside on Saturday, January 27.

Most recently, sophomore Davai Matthews joined that bunch as she notched her first-career double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) at Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday, Feb. 22 as she led the Beach to a 69-67 road win.

Do You Need Some Assistance?
Junior guard Casey Valenti-Paea had a career-game last week against UC Irvine on March 2 as she dished out 11 assists to set a new career mark for herself. It also marked the first time in two years that an LBSU Women's Basketball player distributed 11 assists in a single game. Valenti-Paea was just two helpers away from jumping into the Top 5 in the Long Beach State single-game record book.

Among The Nation's Best
Junior guard Sydney Woodley has been on-point defensively as she leads The Big West in steals per game with 3.38, which ranks her fourth in the nation. Woodley tied her career-high with seven swipes against UC Riverside on January 27. With Woodley leading the way, Long Beach is tops in the conference with 11.21 steals per game this season, which puts the Beach 15th in the nation.

Team Identity
LB Grit has been long associated with the Long Beach State Men's Volleyball program. However, when asked to describe her team's identity, Coach Wright was quick to say, "Gritty. Scrappy. Chippy." She went on to explain that her current team is filled with physical players who "get in there and tangle up, and talk their talk." Wright likes the hard-nosed, blue collar style of play her team has on the court. "Those three words explain the personality of this team. And you've got to be that way. If you're going to be running fast, shooting these shots, and guarding hard, you've got to play with a little chip on your shoulder."

Next Up
Long Beach State will travel to Henderson, Nev., next week for The 2024 Big West Championship. The Beach are the No. 7 seed and will play No. 6 seed UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday, March 13 at 2:30 p.m.

Calendar

Beach Basketball Closes The Regular Season On The Road At UC Davis

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Players Mentioned

Patricia Chung

Jada Crawshaw

Lauren Cummings

Cheyenne Givens

Kennan Ka

Davai Matthews

Olivia Moore

Abby Shoff

Lovely Sonnier

Savannah Tucker

Sydney Woodley

Long Beach State University Athletics