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.
The Long Beach State women’s basketball team has an enjoyable film session in their near future.
In a matchup of Big West unbeatens on Saturday afternoon at Walter Pyramid, the Beach (9-5, 5-0) led wire-to-wire in an impressive 73-60 win over UC Davis (11-5, 5-1), claiming sole possession of first place in the conference. It’s one of the best performances of the Amy Wright era at the Beach, and signals what the Beach can look like when they’re playing well and playing together.
“Davis is a great team. We were fortunate to have the entire week to prepare, and with that preparation I thought we had all 14 of our kids invested in winning this game,” said Wright, in her second season leading the Beach. “We know we have to earn the respect of the conference, and that’s something these young women aren’t scared of. And we don’t win this game without leadership.”
Wright singled out senior guards Savannah Tucker and Patricia Chung, who were both joining her at the postgame press conference, calling them “probably the two best leaders in the conference.”
Tucker led all scorers with 22 points on just 11 shots, going 8/10 from the free throw line after drawing seven fouls during the game. It was her fourth 20-point game of the season and was an overall efficient night from the Beach’s top scorer, who knocked down a pair of threes but also drove to the basket effectively, helping the Beach outscore UC Davis 32-16 in the paint.
“We’re a really good team when we get downhill,” said Tucker. “We’re a better team once we get it in (the paint) and hit it out. I feel like that’s where a lot of our made threes come from. So I feel like us getting downhill, everyone’s really aggressive, and it’s really hard to guard when you have five people that can all get to the basket and finish.”
Chung added 15 points and matched a team high with 7 rebounds to go with 3 assists. She and Tucker were each 2-for-3 from beyond the three-point line, leading the Beach to a solid 41.7 percent (5/12) for the game. On the flip side, UC Davis was just 8/30 (26.7 percent) from beyond the arc, well below their season average of over 35 percent entering Saturday.
“We practice like we are the underdogs,” said Chung of how the team prepared this week. “Going into practice each day, building brick by brick, making sure that we have good energy, have good leadership, we’re taking care of the ball even when we’re practicing; just making it as game-like as possible. And of course, having that one week off, we were really refreshed today, compared to Davis.”
The Beach raced out to a double-digit lead after six minutes, when a steal and a three-pointer from Tucker made it an 18-8 Long Beach lead. Half of Long Beach’s points came off turnovers in that quarter, and LBSU led by as many as a dozen until a 10-0 UC Davis run cut the lead to 22-19 after the first 10 minutes.
In the second quarter the story was defense, as LBSU allowed just one made field goal to the Aggies to win the quarter, 13-3. The visitors shot just 1/14 from the field, missing all 8 of their three-point tries.
Chung delivered the final blow of the quarter with a crossover step-back three at the top of the key to give the Beach their largest lead, 35-22, heading into halftime.
Things continued to go Long Beach’s way in the second half, with the lead growing to as high as 21 points on a transition layup from Tucker after a blocked shot by Jada Crawshaw.
Eight different players made field goals for the Beach, with six players scoring six points or more, but it was defense that really fueled the win. UC Davis entered the contest as the highest scoring team in the Big West, averaging over 73 points per game on the season, and were held to just 36 points through three quarters.
The Aggies cut the deficit to 10 points thanks to a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter, but they could never get back to within single digits. Long Beach native and St. Anthony High School graduate Ryann Bennett was huge in that comeback attempt for the Aggies, scoring all 11 of her points in the final quarter–much to the delight of her solid cheering section behind the visitors bench.
Standout freshman Mykelle Richards had another great night for the Beach while playing with foul trouble. The 6-foot-1 forward had 9 points (4/5 FGs), 4 rebounds and a pair of steals in less than 20 minutes of action. Lovely Sonnier had a nice night with 9 points and a team-high 4 assists.
Long Beach State is now alone in first place in the Big West, and winners of four straight games. They’ll look to continue their strong play with road games at UC San Diego and Cal State Fullerton next Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
