Women's Basketball Begins Big West Championship Wednesday Afternoon

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State begins their run towards a 13th NCAA Tournament appearance this week, looking to run a four-game gauntlet at the Big West Championship Presented by Credit Union 1. The Beach begins that journey on Wednesday, taking on UC Riverside at 2:30 p.m. from Lee's Family Forum in Henderson, Nev. With continued wins, the Beach would advance on to face (3) UC Davis Thursday, (2) UC Irvine Friday before the championship game on Saturday, March 15.

SENIOR TRIO/FRESHMAN DUO
• Long Beach State had three players earn All-Big West honors as the conference announced the winners this week.
• Savannah Tucker was named to the First Team, the first for LBSU since Justina King in 2020-21 after leading the Big West in scoring this season at 16.9 points per game.
• Senior Patricia Chung also will finish her career as an All-Big West selection, earning Honorable Mention after averaging 9.2 points and 3.2 assists per game, third in the league in assists.
• Graduate transfer Rachel Loobie leads the Big West in rebounding this season, averaging nearly a double-double for Long Beach State at 9.1 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. Loobie was also selected to the All-Defensive team after making 39 blocks.
• Both Mykelle Richards and JaQuioa Jones-Brown were named to the All-Freshman team after great first seasons for the Beach.

Staying Social
Follow Long Beach State women's basketball on X and Instagram at @LBSUWBB. You can also stay up-to-date on all things Long Beach State by following @LBSUAthletics on X. Be sure to "like" us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram at @LBSU. And don't forget our hashtag #GoBeach.

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.

About The Beach
• Long Beach State is the top scoring program in the Big West, averaging 69.2 points per game and leading the Big West in rebounding as well at 42.4 per game.

• Senior Savannah Tucker became the 27th player in Long Beach State Women's Basketball history to reach 1,000 career points, scoring 19 against UC Riverside. Now with 1,081 points in her career, Tucker ranks 22nd in school history and can reach the Top 20 at the Big West Championship.

• After averaging a double-double and leading LBSU with a career-high 18 rebounds against UC Irvine, Rachel Loobie was named the Big West Player of the Week, the third winner for the Beach this season.

• Savannah Tucker won the award twice previously, once December 9 and once February 10 following a career-high 33 points for the senior against CSUN, one of six 25+ point performances for Tucker over the last two years.

• 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 16.9 points per game and leads the Big West as well. The product out of Fresno, Calif., turned in a career-high 33-point performance at CSUN on February 8. In addition to her hot shooting, Tucker also contributes 2.7 rebounds per game, while adding 70 assists. Her 37 steals are second on the team.

LOOBIE ON The Glass
• Rachel Loobie is the team's leader in rebounding with 8.7 boards per game to rank first in the conference and in league play with 10.17 rebounds per game. The grad transfer from Wright State is solid all-around as she adds 9.1 points per game, while leading the Beach in blocks with 39. The graduate student currently has 644 Division I career rebounds.

PLAYER NOTES
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. Crawshaw is Long Beach State's second leading scorer, averaging 10.6 points per game. Crawshaw is an all-around player as she adds 4.9 rebounds per game, while totaling 46 assists, 26 steals, and 22 blocks on the year.

• 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. On the year, she owns a 48.3% field goal percentage to lead the Beach. Richards' 48 steals lead the team and her 7.7 points per game are fifth on the team.

• 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 (3.17) sitting in third. On the year, she is averaging 9.2 points per game and 4.8 rebounds per game, to go along with a team-high 92 assists and 41 steals, second-most for the Beach.

• 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. On the year, the freshman is averaging 7.1 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per game to go along with 37 assists, 21 steals, and 5 blocks.

• Senior Lovely Sonnier is also playing a big role for Long Beach State this season. Averaging 5.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game for the Beach, Sonnier has started 20 games this season for LBSU and has scored in double-figures six times adding 42 assists and 39 steals.

SCOUTING UC RIVERSIDE
• UC Riverside secured the seven seed in the Big West Championship after coming in with a 12-8 record, identical to the Beach but having lost both matchups this season to Long Beach State entering the tournament.

• Shelley Duchemin leads the Highlanders at 10.7 points per game, their only scorer averaging double-figures this season. Duchemin earned Second Team All-Big West honors.

SERIES: THE BEACH VS. THE HIGHLANDERS
• Long Beach State leads a tight all-time series with UC Riverside 29-26, but tacked on two more wins earlier this year. The Beach won 63-48 behind 22 points from Savannah Tucker on the road, and then held off the Highlanders at home 75-69 as Tucker reached her 1,000 point milestone.

Last Time Out: LBSU AT CAL POLY
Down by seven after ten minutes, Long Beach State opened the second quarter on a 12-4 run to take the lead as the Beach defeated Cal Poly 70-62 in the Big West women's basketball regular-season finale Saturday afternoon at Mott Gymnasium.

Making four of their first six three-point attempts, Cal Poly took an early 14-6 lead. Michelle Richards stopped the Mustang's run, but the hosts answered with Mary Carter's third three of the game to extend the lead. A basket at the buzzer by Jada Crawshaw closed the gap to 22-15 after 10 minutes.

The Beach scored the first seven points of the second quarter to tie the game at 22. Crawshaw's three-pointer gave the Beach the second lead of the game, 27-26. Rachel Loobie hit back-to-back baskets to complete a 9-0 run for Long Beach State. Cal Poly answered scoreless after four minutes, but Crawshaw closed the half with another buzzer basket as the Beach led at half, 35-32.

A quick three by Loobie got the Beach started in the second half. After the Mustangs answered back, Loobie's layup gave LBSU their largest lead, 42-34. Both teams went on a three-minute drought before Loobie again helped the Beach to keep the lead. Crawshaw closed the third with an easy layup on one end and a block on the other as LBSU maintained the lead, 50-42.

Three straight threes pushed the Beach to an 11-0 run, opening a 20-point lead while holding Cal Poly scoreless for over four minutes in the fourth. The Mustangs answered with their second 10-0 run as the Beach led with 1:32 left, 63-52. Lovely Sonnier stopped the host's run, but another three for Cal Poly closed the gap again, 65-56. The Beach held a final push by the Mustangs to take the win on the road, 72-64.

Long Beach State (16-13, 12-8 Big West) outscored Cal Poly (13-17, 8-12 Big West) from the paint, 34-24 while shooting 48% (29-of-60) compared to 34% (21-of-61) from the Mustangs. The Beach outrebounded the hosts 44-32.

Loobie added a season-high 18 points and completed a double-double with 10 rebounds. Tucker added 18 points as well, while Crawshaw scored 17. Mary Carter led the Mustangs with a career-high 27 points.

Calendar

Women's Basketball Begins Big West Championship Wednesday Afternoon

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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