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sports
Beach looks to
big three for victories on court
By Mike Haubrich
On-line Forty-Niner
Life for the Long
Beach State women's basketball team begins this season without
Jackie Moore - but life with seniors Ekuah Ramsey, Tamara
Inoue and Crystal Givens isn't bad.
The Beach lost
three starters off a squad that went 17-13 overall and tied
for second in the Big West Conference at 10-4. The biggest
loss is Moore, the reigning Big West Player of the Year who
averaged a conference leading 18.5 points per game and was
second in the Big West at 8.1 rebounds a game.
But the 49ers must
also replace Reta Sula, who led the team with 63 three-pointers,
scored 11.4 ppg and dished out 122 assists, and Charel Bailey,
who averaged 7.7 ppg and 5.2 rpg.
The brunt of this
assignment is on Ramsey, Inoue and Givens, plus a collection
of holdovers and newcomers who must find their roles for the
team to stay in contention for the Big West title.
Ramsey, who was
a second-team All-Big West selection last year, was LBSU's
second-leading scorer at 13.3 ppg and third at 5.7 rpg last
season and will start at small forward. Inoue, an All-Big
West Honorable Mention selection, dished out a team-high 142
assists last season to go with 9.6 ppg and will be the 49ers'
starting point guard. Givens, who was named the Big West "Sixth
Man of the Year" for 2000-01 after averaging 7.4 ppg
and 6.4 rpg, will start at power forward.
"Crystal is
a good rebounder, but we'll need her to improve on her scoring,"
said Head Coach Dallas Bolla, who enters her seventh year
with the 49ers. "Ekuah [team-high 75 steals last season;
Big West Defensive Player of the Year] and Tamara [53 steals]
make us a really good defensive team. Most of our offense
is because of good defense."
The other two starting
slots are up in the air. Junior college transfer Jinga Gosschalk
could fill the shooting guard spot and Bolla is leaning toward
freshman Jayme Conners, a 6-foot-2 forward/center, to fill
the post.
"Jinga's
a scorer," Bolla said of Gosschalk, who hails from Amsterdam.
"She's used to the European style of basketball. She's
a three-point shooter, but needs to stay out of foul trouble
and work on her defense."
Bolla said Conners
and junior college transfer Glory Johnson could be two of
the 49ers' top newcomers.
"Jayme Conners
could be one of our strongest players ever," Bolla said.
"Glory Johnson will be the first off the bench and will
contribute a lot."
Beach holdovers
include Kyoko Higurashi [53 assists, 19 steals], sophomore
forward Lauren Bull [2.9 ppg, 15 three-pointers], sophomore
center Montoya Whitfield [2.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg] and sophomore
guard Jennifer Baker [19 assists, 17 steals].
Newcomers to LBSU
who figure to see playing time include three freshmen, guards
Candice Wilson and Christina Mack, and forward Cynetha Rush.
Freshman center Sarah Stout, who stands 6-foot-7, will redshirt
this season.
Losing Moore will
have an impact on the 49ers, who led the Big West in scoring
last year at 75.8 ppg, but the loss might hold a silver lining.
"When Jackie
got into foul trouble last season, we had trouble scoring,"
Bolla said. "We'll need Ekuah, Tamara and Crystal to
step up this year if someone gets into foul trouble. Losing
Jackie leaves a big void, but it should result in more balanced
scoring."
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