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Idaho
ends 49ers hopes for NCAAs in final seconds
Upset
• Senior guard Candice Wilson and
the Long Beach State women's basketball
team lost in the semifinal round of the
Big West Tournament to Idaho 69-67 on Friday.
Online Forty-Niner
By
Matt Pearson
Online Forty-Niner
Sports Editor
As
the final shot fell, so did hopes of a Big
West Championship for the 49er women's basketball
team as they lost to Idaho in the semifinal
round of the conference tournament on Friday.
Junior
forward Emily Faurholt caught an imbound
pass for Idaho (19-10) with 2.3 seconds
left in the game, took one dribble to her
left and sank a jump-shot at the buzzer
to beat Long Beach State (19-9) 69-67. Faurholt
had a game-high 35 points.
"The
kids played as hard as they could,"
Head Coach Mary Hegarty said. "We made
some mistakes that hurt us."
The
biggest mistake came with 0:21 left in the
game, LBSU lost the ball and turned it over
which lead to the game-ending shot that
crushed the 49ers. The Beach had 18 turnovers
in the game.
Both
teams were neck-and-neck with each other,
as the score was tied nine different times,
and the lead changed nine different times
in the game.
Senior
guard Aisha Hollans led the way for LBSU,
scoring 22 points, and collected 12 rebounds.
Junior forward Crystal McCutcheon had 12
points of her own and went 2-3 from three-point
land.
Senior
center Petra Gläser was ineffective
in the first half as she only played two
minutes due to early foul trouble. Her presence
in the middle was missed as the 49ers were
down at one point 25-15. Faurholt took advantage
as she scored 23 of her 35 points in the
first half. But LBSU tightened up its defense
to pull within two points 33-31 at the half.
Glaser
started the second half and quickly scored
the first six points of the half for LBSU
and finished the game with 10 points scored.
The biggest lead for LBSU came when a Hollans'
jumper gave the 49ers a 48-42 advantage
with 10:47 left in the second half.
The
Vandals would then take their first lead
of the half after a three-pointer by senior
forward Heather Theolke, who was 4-8 from
down town in the game. Idaho shot 38.5 percent
(10-26) from three-point range for the game
while LBSU shot 37.5 percent (3-8) from
down town.
Another
area where the 49ers had missed opportunities
was at the free throw line. The Beach shot
a collective 61.4 percent (16-26) for the
game.
Senior
guard Candice Wilson dropped in 10 points
while junior forward Jayme Conners finished
with eight points and 10 rebounds for LBSU.
Despite
the hearbreaking loss, this team has come
a long way. "We've taken a huge jump
in the program from last year to this year,"
Hegarty said. "We're learning how to
win."
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