Women's Basketball Returns To The Walter Pyramid To Host UC Santa Barbara

LONG BEACH, Calif. - Long Beach State is back at the Walter Pyramid to face UC Santa Barbara.for the annual Play4Kay Pink Game. Tipoff for the match up against UCSB is scheduled for 2 p.m. on ESPN+.

Game #20 UC Santa Barbara at Long Beach State
Date Saturday, February 1
Time 2:00 p.m.
Location Long Beach, Calif.
Arena Walter Pyramid
TV ESPN+
TV Talent Jason Schwartz & Devin Hudson
Live Stats BeachLiveStats.com
Twitter @LBSUWBB

CATCH ALL THE ACTION
All Long Beach State home games will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Jason Schwartz and Devin Hudson on the call. Fans can also follow live stats via BeachLiveStats.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 and UC Davis are tied for third in the Big West standings.
• UC Irvine moved past the Beach with a 61-47 win in the last action for both teams on the road at the Bren Events Center.
• The Beach is back at the Walter Pyramid for their annual Play4Kay Pink Game, as they face the Gauchos for the first time this season.
• As a team, LBSU is shooting 38.5% from the field and averaging a league-leading 43.4 rebounds per game.
• LBSU Head Coach Amy Wright is back on the hardwood for her second season at the Beach.
• The Beach welcomed back six letterwinners from a year ago, while adding eight talented newcomers to the mix.

• Long Beach State closed the non-conference season with a milestone heavy victory against Bethesda. The Beach downed the Lion Angels, 122-49, marking the highest scoring game in program history since 1987. It was also the first time in 10 years LBSU has recorded 100 points.
• LBSU also set a program record for most points scored in a single quarter as the Beach tallied 46 points in the third quarter.
• In the win over Bethesda, the Beach recorded six season-highs in points (122), rebounds (61), assists (29), steals (25), made field goals (44), and field goal percentage (49.4%).
• For the first time in Long Beach State Women's Basketball history, all five starters reached double-figures as Mykelle Richards led the way with 21 points, while Lovely Sonnier (16 points), Savannah Tucker (16 points), Rachel Loobie (15 points), and Patricia Chung (13) all recorded double-figures.

VERY SAVVY
• Senior guard Savannah Tucker leads the Beach in scoring with 15.4 points per game as she comes in first in The Big West. The product out of Fresno, Calif., turned in a career-high 29-point performance at Sacramento State on November 17. She has recorded six 20-plus point performances this season and eight in her career, including four in January already with 22 points against UC Riverside and UC Davis and 26 points against UC San Diego. In addition to her hot shooting, Tucker also contributes 3.0 rebounds per game, while adding 54 assists. Her 24 steals are third on the team. Tucker ranks fifth in assists per game (2.94), and eight in both free throw percentage (.787), and field goal percentage (.382).

CLEANING UP THE GLASS
• Rachel Loobie is the team's leader in rebounding with 7.6 boards per game to rank second in the conference. That number has gone up in league play, as Loobie leads the Big West at 9.22 rebounds per game. The grad transfer from Wright State is solid all around as she adds 7.6 points per game, while leading the Beach in blocks with 23.

CAREER DAY
Sophomore forward Jada Crawshaw turned in another career performance on Thursday, Jan. 23 against CSUN as she added 20 points to help the Beach secure the win, the sophomore also collected 12 rebounds in the night. Prior to that game, Crawshaw's had a career high of 19 points against top ranked UCLA. In that game, 14 of her points coming in the second half and 10 of those points coming in the final 10 minutes of action. Crawshaw is Long Beach State's second leading scorer as she averages 11.2 points per game. Crawshaw is an all around solid player as she adds 5.4 rebounds per game, while totaling 28 assists, 17 steals, and 14 blocks on the year.

PLAYER NOTES
• True freshman Mykelle Richards registered a career-effort with 21 points, while shooting 41.7% from the field (10-14) to lead LBSU to a win over Bethesda on Monday, Dec 30. She also set a new career-best with seven steals against the Lion Angels. On the year, she owns a 53% field goal percentage to lead the Beach. Richards' 34 steals lead the team as she is tied for second place in the league with 2.43 steals per game.

• Senior guard Patricia Chung has been a consistent force for Long Beach State this season. She ranks in the Top 10 in The Big West in assists per game (3.11) sitting in third. On the year, she is averaging 8.6 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per game, to go along with 56 assists, 25 steals, and two blocks.• True freshman JaQuoia Jones-Brown has found her groove with the Beach as she earned her first career start against Elon on Dec. 19. In that contest, she led LBSU with a career-high 17 points on 50.0% shooting from the field and 66.7% shooting from long distance. Against Bethesda,Jones-Brown registered her first-ever collegiate double-double with 16 points and 12 boards. On the year, she averages 7.2 points per game and 5.7 rebounds per game, to go along with 25 assists, 14 steals, and 5 blocks.

• In the Big West Preseason Coaches Poll, Long Beach State was picked to finish fourth in the standings. The Beach garnered 63 points to come in behind preseason favorite Hawaii (96 points, 6 first-place votes), second place UC Irvine (95 points, 5 first-place votes), and UC Davis (81 points).

SCOUTING UC SANTA BARBARA
• UC Santa Barbara is 11-9 overall and 5-5 in the Big West. The Gauchos come from a comeback win at CSUN, 68-53 on Thursday night.

• Alyssa Marin is the scoring leader for the Gauchos, averaging 15.4 points per game. Skylar Burke averages 6.2 rebounds per game to lead the team while also leading the team in blocks with 9 and assists with 40. Burke leads the team with 19 steals in the year.

THE SERIES: THE BEACH VS. THE GAUCHOS
LBSU leads the series against UCSB 60-54. The last time both teams saw each other was during last years Big West Championship where the Beach edged the Gauchos, 90-75 to clinch a spot in the quarter-finals. Long Beach State brings a two-game winning streak against UCSB into the Walter Pyramid on Saturday afternoon.

LAST TIME OUT: LBSU VS. UC IRVINE

Jada Crawshaw led Long Beach State with her third double-double of the season, but UC Irvine defeated the Beach 61-47 in the highly anticipated Black and Blue Rivalry Game at the Bren Events Center.

Crawshaw scored six straight points to give Long Beach State an 8-2 lead with 7:30 left in the first period. The Anteaters (14-6, 8-2 Big West) closed the gap with their five-point run before senior Savannah Tucker scored for the first time. UCI tied the game, but Rachel Loobie's three-pointer allowed the Beach to head into media timeout, 12-9. Tucker extended the lead, hitting her first three-pointer of the game, followed by a layup as LBSU led 16-9 with under two minutes left. UCI cut the lead by sinking a three, and the Beach finished the first quarter with a 16-12 advantage.

UC Irvine recorded the first points of the second quarter to cut into the Beach lead. Senior Lovely Sonnier converted free throws to return the Long Beach State lead to four points. The Anteaters connected on back-to-back threes to close the gap. Freshman JaQuoia Jones-Brown sank two free throws before the Anteaters answered back with a six-point run to take the lead heading into halftime up 26-23 for the first time.

The teams traded baskets to begin the second. Sonnier's five straight points led the Beach 30-28. A 9-0 Anteaters' spurt resulted in a 45-35 advantage. A late Crawshaw basket made the score 45-37 after three periods. UCI started the final 10 minutes with another three to extend their lead. Patricia Chung returned the favor with a three-pointer for a 48-40 score. Four in a row from the Anteaters resulted in a 52-40 lead. The Beach scored five straight points before UC Irvine controlled the end of the game, answering back to the Beach points and defeating LBSU, 61-47, to lead the league standings.

Crawshaw led LBSU with 13 points and 11 rebounds. She also dished out a season-high five assists. Sonnier scored 10 for Long Beach State. Led by Hunter Hernandez with 16, UCI had four players in double digits. Hernandez also posted a double-double as she grabbed 11 rebounds. Deja Lee scored 15. Nikki Tom had 11, while Olivia Williams scored 10.

Long Beach State held UC Irvine to 29.6% shooting (21-of-71). LBSU shot 31.4% from the field (16-of-51). The Anteaters outrebounded the Beach 46-41, 19-9 on the offensive glass. UCI made 10 steals, as UC Irvine scored 23 points off 21 LBSU turnovers. The victory puts UCI into the Big West lead with an 8-2 mark.

The Beach falls to third with a 7-3 league record. Long Beach State (11-9) returns to the Walter Pyramid Saturday afternoon to host UC Santa Barbara (11-9, 5-5 Big West) in the annual Play4Kay Pink Game. Tipoff is 2 p.m. on ESPN+.

UP NEXT
Long Beach State will hit the road next week to face UC Davis on Thursday, February 6 at 6 p.m. and CSUN on Saturday, February 8 at 2 p.m.

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Women's Basketball Returns To The Walter Pyramid To Host UC Santa Barbara

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Players Mentioned

Patricia Chung

Jada Crawshaw

JaQuoia Jones-Brown

Rachel Loobie

Mykelle Richards

Lovely Sonnier

Savannah Tucker

Long Beach State University Athletics