49ers
turnover wins to Titans, Vandals
By Jack Schneider
On-line Forty-Niner
It
was a matter of bitter losses for Long Beach
State women’s basketball after losing two
in a row to the University of Idaho Vandals
on Saturday and the Cal State University
Fullerton Titans on Thursday, both Big West
teams.
On Saturday in The Pyramid, Long Beach State
fell to Idaho 55-48. Idaho’s record gains
to 7-15, 5-7 in the Big West while the 49ers
drop to 10-12 and 7-4 in the Big West.
The 49ers top player of the night was junior
Jennifer Baker who had a career night with
17 points and 15 rebounds.
Baker hit seven of 15 from the field, setting
career-highs in both points and rebounds;
Baker also tallied four steals and three
blocks. Senior Glory Johnson added 21 points
on 10-of-21 shooting. The 49ers as a team
shot a miserable 30 percent from the field.
Junior Lauren Bull managed to obtain two
steals in the second half around the 4:33
mark to try to light a spark for the 49ers
and keep The Beach in the game.
However, the Vandals shot 37 percent as
a team and were led by top player Autumn
Fielding as she registered a double-double
of 24 points and 11 rebounds, and hit four
of the team’s eight three’s.
Keisha Moore added 16 points and nine rebounds
for Idaho to help Fielding close the door
on the 49ers.
Idaho led the first half 25-24. In the second
half sophomore Christina Mack scored a layup,
pulling the 49ers to within 29-28 with 18:46
remaining.
After Mack’s layup The Beach were held scoreless
for seven minutes by UI as the Vandals built
a 40-28 lead. Autumn Fielding’s three at
15:57 put the Vandals up 35-28. Then Vandal
Toni Kinsey’s sank a three at 13:27 making
the score 38-28, as Idaho scored nine straight.
The 49ers scoring drought and the three-pointers
from both Fielding and Kinsey put the game
out of reach and the Vandals walked away
with a 55-48 conference win.
On Thursday, Long Beach State fell to the
Cal State Fullerton Titans at the Pyramid.
In the first half of the game, the 49ers
struggled against the Titans as CSUF led
a 22-6 run.
With 5:36 remaining in the first half Fullerton
was up by 14 points, 32-18, setting the
biggest lead for the Titans.
Throughout the first half, The Beach racked
up 19 turnovers and managed to shoot 46
percent from the field.
Things were looking up in the second half
with an 11-4 run bringing the score within
three points, 46-43 at the 15:43 mark. Later
freshman CeCe Rush swiftly glided a layup
into the basket, tying the Titans 53-53.
Late in the second half, sophomore Candace
Wilson fired two solid free-throws at the
6:59 mark, giving the 49ers a 60-58 lead.
At the 4:48 mark, Fullerton responded to
The Beach’s lead with a three-point play
from Andrea Adams, which began a seesaw
battle of ties and lead changes.
With 4.1 seconds left in the game and the
score knotted at 74-74, Titan Amber Pruitt
drove the basket and was fouled by Johnson,
who was assessed a technical foul for slamming
the ball.
Rochelle Ortega of CSUF made both technical
free throws before Pruitt made one of two
free throws sealing the score 77-74. The
49ers had one final attempt to send the
game into overtime, but the buzzer sounded
before senior Jinga Gosschalk could let
go of her three-point attempt.
Johnson racked up the bulk of the points
for The Beach scoring 23 points and tallying
seven rebounds while Wilson contributed
18 points. Gosschalk and Baker scored 10
points each. Overall, The Beach shot 44
percent on the court and managed a charitable
29 turnovers.
The Titans managed to shoot 43 percent and
committed 29 turnovers. Heather Hansen led
CSUF with 17 points.
|
