Long Beach State Readies For Home Opener Against Santa Clara

Monday, November 9

Long Beach, Calif.

6 p.m.

Long Beach State University

Santa Clara

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11/8/2026 11:01:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Game Notes

The Beach welcome preseason WCC favorite, Santa Clara to the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid.

By: James Hanson, Assistant Director, Athletic Communications

LONG BEACH, Calif. – The Long Beach State women's basketball team welcomes preseason WCC favorite, Santa Clara to the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid for its home opener on Monday night.

While supplies last, Long Beach State schedule posters will be given away to fans on Monday evening.

GAME 2

Long Beach State (0-1) vs. Santa Clara (2-0) | 6 p.m.| LBSU Financial Credit Union Pyramid | LIVE STATS | ESPN+ | TICKETS

OPENING TIP

Long Beach State returns to Long Beach for its home opener against Santa Clara.
Sophomore forward Rosie Akot is the lone returner from last years' Long Beach State squad. She recorded six points, six boards and three blocks in her first game this year.
Against Cal, Noemi Arvai, Kailyn Berry and Ebony Taylor-Smith all scored nine points.
10 Beach players made their Long Beach State debuts, while four of them made their collegiate debuts at Cal.
Long Beach State is 2-4 in the all-time series against Santa Clara, but the Beach have won the last two contests between the two squads.
The Beach are 2-2 at home against the Broncos and defeated them 66-50 in Long Beach in 2021.
Santa Clara is 2-0 on the season, having picked up road wins at Wyoming (84-50) and Utah Valley (64-62).
Santa Clara's Maia Jones and Ava Schmidt were named to the Preseason All-WCC Team, while Sophie Glancey was named to a pair of watch lists, including the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year list. The Broncos head coach Loree Payne was named to the 2027 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Preseason Watch List.
Long Beach State was picked T-10th in the preseason Big West poll.
Santa Clara was tabbed as the WCC preseason favorites.
Following the home opener, Long Beach State hits the road for contests at Portland, San Francisco and San Jose State before closing out the month with a home matchup against Hope International.
Week 0 of the Big West slate will see the Beach visit Utah Valley on December 3 and welcome Cal State Fullerton to Long Beach on December 5.

A NEW ERA

Minyon Moore was named the ninth head coach of the Long Beach State women's basketball program, bringing championship experience, elite defensive expertise and a proven record of program development to the Beach.
Moore enters her first head coaching stint after three seasons as an assistant coach at TCU, where she helped transform the Horned Frogs into a national contender. During the 2025-26 season, TCU finished 32-6 overall and 15-3 in Big 12 play, captured its second consecutive Big 12 championship and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight for the second straight year. Since Moore's arrival in 2023, TCU recorded an NCAA-leading 26-game improvement, emerging from an 8-23 season into a national power.
During her career as an assistant coach, Moore has made two Elite Eight appearances and been to the NCAA Tournament three times. She's also won two conference championships.
As a player, Moore was a three-time All-Pac-12 Defensive Team selection after competing at USC and Oregon. At Oregon, she helped the Ducks win Pac-12 regular season and tournament championships.
In addition to head coach Minyon Moore, the Beach added three additional coaches for the 2026-27 season.
Jeff Harada joins the Beach as the associate head coach after eight seasons as the head coach at Cal State Fullerton. During his time with the Titans, Harada made six Big West Tournament appearances and helped revitalize the program. During his tenure, Fullerton produced the 2019-20 Big West Player of the Year, the 2021-22 Big West Freshman of the Year, the 2021-22 Big West Hustle Player of the Year, multiple All-Big West selections and numerous All-Freshman Team honorees. His 2019-20 squad posted a 17-14 record, the program's first winning season since 1990-91, while leading the Big West in scoring, field goal percentage and defensive rebounds.
Lexi Petersen joins Long Beach State as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator after three seasons on Saint Mary's coaching staff, and four seasons with Seattle U. Petersen played for the University of Oregon from 2012-16 and appeared in a school record 126 games as she finished with 1,226 points.
Kaylin Randhawa joins the Beach as an assistant coach after a stint at Cal State Monterey Bay. Randhawa played for Pacific, Utah State and Sacramento State as she played in 143 games and scored over 1,000 points.
Long Beach State has also hired Ken Ammann as an Associate Athletic Director of Basketball Strategy & Revenue, who will serve as the General Manager for both the Men's and Women's Basketball programs at the Beach. Ammann recently retired after spending the last 25 years leading the Concordia University Irvine Men's Basketball program, winning 546 games in his career and two NAIA National Championship during his tenure with the Eagles.
In his role as General Manager, Ammann will be responsible for strategic guidance of business operations for the basketball programs with a focus on fundraising, donor relations, NIL partnerships, revenue sharing, roster planning and student-athlete support. Working closely will all members of the Beach Basketball community, this leadership role will help strengthen the competitiveness, community presence, and long-term success of Long Beach State's basketball programs.

THE SQUAD

Long Beach State has 12 newcomers on the 2026-27 squad, and the Beach welcome seven transfers and five freshmen.
Sophomore forward Rosie Akot is the lone returner for the Beach. In the season opener, Akot tallied six points, six assists and three blocks. Last year, she started in 15 games and averaged 6.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game during her debut season.
Redshirt sophomore forward Noemi Arvai joins Long Beach State from Sacramento State. At Cal, Arvai added nine points, three boards and two assists. Arvai missed the 2025-26 season due to injury and utilized a redshirt year. During the 2024-25 season, the Budapest, Hungary native played in 31 games, made one start, scored 55 points and grabbed 38 rebounds. She scored 10 points and grabbed seven boards in her collegiate debut at Eastern Washington.
Junior forward Kailyn Berry joins the Beach after two years at Howard College. Berry scored nine points, grabbed five boards and collected two steals against the Golden Bears. Prior to Long Beach State, she played and started in 59 games, scored 800 points, grabbed 456 boards and collected 67 steals during her time with the Hawks. A three-time WJCAC Women's Basketball Player of the Week selection, Berry played a key role in helping the Lady Hawks to a 21-9 record during her sophomore campaign and a berth in the NJCAA Region V Tournament.
Freshman guard Lucia Chico Fernandez joins Long Beach State after a decorated career with Club Baloncesto Araba. Chico Fernandez went 2-for-2 from the field in her collegiate debut. She helped lead her teams to four-consecutive Basque Championships and qualify for four Spanish Club Championships at the U14, U16 and U18 levels.
Senior guard Amber Furch joins Long Beach State after three seasons at Saint Michael's. Furch tallied three points, two assists and two rebounds in Berkeley. Over three seasons with the Purple Knights, Furch appeared in 62 games with 60 starts, totaling 520 points, 178 rebounds, 98 assists, and 89 steals while averaging 8.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. Off the court, she earned Northeast-10 Academic Honor Roll recognition in three consecutive semesters and is majoring in Psychology.
Freshman guard Ebony Taylor-Smith joins the Beach after a four-year career at Rancho Christian High School. She added nine points with three triples in the fourth quarter against Cal. Taylor-Smith had one of the most accomplished high school careers in Southern California. Taylor-Smith averaged 16.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.9 steals per game over 95 career games while finishing with more than 1,900 career points.
Junior guard Ashanti Dias joins the Beach after an outstanding sophomore season at Laney College. She started 24 of 30 games while averaging 15.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.9 steals per game, leading the Eagles in scoring and assists. She shot 40.3 percent from the field and finished the season with 476 points, 190 assists, and 57 steals. Dias dished out four assists and collected two boards in her Beach debut.
Redshirt sophomore forward Danijela Kujovic joins the Beach after two seasons at Hawaii. Over two seasons in the Big West Conference, she appeared in 21 games and gained valuable experience competing at the Division I level. She totaled 34 points and 21 rebounds over her 21 appearances. Kujovic logged three points at Cal.
Junior forward Fia Proctor joins the Beach after competing in both the Mountain West and West Coast Conference. A versatile forward with the ability to stretch the floor, she continued her development at Seattle U after beginning her collegiate career at Wyoming. During her collegiate career, Proctor's played in 31 games, made one start, tallied 71 points and 28 rebounds.
Freshman guard Aryanna Reyes joins Long Beach State after a four-year career at Pioneer High School in Whittier, Calif. Reyes scored her first collegiate points at Cal as she hit a triple.
Freshman guard Malia Taulani joins Long Beach State after a four-year career at South Medford High School in Oregon. A three-time SWC First Team All-Conference selection, she earned All-State honors in 2026 after averaging 14.0 points per game during her senior season.

CAREER MILESTONES

Ashanti Dias – 494 points
Rosie Akot – 199 points
Ashanti Dias – 199 assists
Kailyn Berry – 292 field goals

UP NEXT

Long Beach State heads to Portland for a contest against the Pilots at the Chiles Center on Friday, November 14.
Tip-off is set for 5 p.m., and the game with be streamed on ESPN+.