The562’s coverage of Long Beach State athletics for the 2023-24 season is sponsored by Marilyn Bohl.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach State Basketball is sponsored by CSULB Distinguished Alumnus Nelson Farris.
It was a career night for Long Beach State women’s basketball on Friday at Walter Pyramid. Senior Cheyenne Givens, junior Sydney Woodley, and senior Casey Valenti Paea each had career highs in points, and junior Patricia Chung had a career high in rebounds for the Beach.
With those performances, it was only fitting for the Beach (4-3) to snap Colorado State’s (8-1) undefeated season with a 77-76 victory in the program’s first ever win over the Rams.
“That’s the whole point of the style of play that we have. You never know who it’s going to be,” said LBSU head coach Amy Wright. “The point is we want to have four people in double figures, and I don’t think anybody on this team cares who it is. I think we, at the end of the day, just want to win, so whoever’s on fire, let’s try and get them touches. That’s the purpose of the pace and the offense.”
While the final score indicated a nail-biter, the game’s opening quarter showed anything but. CSU had the hot hand early, going 7/11 from three, to guide the Rams to a 15-point lead.
But while the first quarter’s 33-18 deficit put the Beach in a big hole early, Coach Wright’s adjustment got the team back on track in the second.
“This was great, this was a gutsy win,” Wright said. “We dug ourselves a nice little hole there to start the game, but it shows the character of these young women and the qualities that they possess. They came out the rest of the game; we made some small adjustments defensively. Then they bought into it, they gave it 100 percent.”
LBSU tightened up in the second quarter, limiting the Rams’ three-point attack to holding CSU to just 13 points on 21 percent shooting. On the other end of the court, the Beach’s physicality in the paint wore the Rams down, and helped them go on a 10-0 run in the second.
The Beach saw three players in double figures, with Givens and Woodley scoring 19 points and Valenti Paea scoring 15.
“I feel like everybody on the team is becoming more comfortable stepping into that role of being a threat on the floor,” Givens said. “It’s also very beneficial when there’s multiple threats because you take one away, then there’s another one, then what are you going to do? You can’t take everything away in basketball. You gotta give something up.”
Arguably the most significant difference-maker for the Beach was their steals, with 20 points coming off turnovers. Junior Sydney Woodley led the team with seven steals out of the 11 total for LBSU.
“We just knew that we had to pick it up on the defensive end because that is our bread and butter,” Chung said. “So when we get steals, when we convert those [and] get another steal that switches it up for us. Then we’re able to control the game with pressure on defense.”
Going into the 2nd half, the Beach opened up with a deep three from Valenti Paea to tie the game at 46, but CSU wouldn’t go away. The Rams ran their offense through McKenna Hofschild, whose 28 points kept Beach defenders on edge with her quick drives to the lane.
The teams would go back and forth for the entire second half, with neither able to go up by more than six points. But with 8 seconds left in the game tied at 76, Chung would put the Beach up one. That crucial free throw would end up being the difference, as LBSU’s defense held firm on the final possession, not allowing a basket on three put-back opportunities for the Rams.
“A win is a win, and you take it, [and] you enjoy it until midnight. And then you get ready for Pacific tomorrow.” Wright said.
The Beach will have another big challenge with a short turnaround before game two of this year’s Beach Classic. LBSU is hosting Pacific on Saturday at 5 p.m.
“I think mentally, it’s gonna be a test for us,” Chung said. “We’re gonna have to focus on our scout, focus on our principles, and come out tomorrow just as strong and get another one.”
