By One year before head coach Amy Wright took control of the program, senior guard Savannah Tucker had a limited role at Long Beach State, averaging just over 10 minutes and 2.5 points per game. But now, she has emerged as a star.
Under the now-second-year head coach’s offensive philosophy that emphasizes fast-paced ball movement and generating good looks from the three-point line, Tucker has thrived as The Beach’s leading scorer for the past two seasons.
“[Wright] just lets me be me and I think that’s the biggest thing I’m so thankful for,” Tucker said. “I feel like I’m not the best at playing in a box and so I feel like she lets me do what I need to do.”
Tucker leads The Beach in scoring and steals at 15.5 points and 1.5 steals per game, while also leading the team in three-point attempts and minutes.
The larger role for the senior guard was not easily handed to her, as she spent the entirety of her first offseason under Wright rehabbing an injury.
“I had two fractures in my shins, so with her coming in, I didn’t practice that whole summer,” Tucker said. “I was just healing, but talking to her, we kind of understood what my role was as a scorer and taking on that new leadership role.”
Wright said that Tucker earned her new role by proving herself on the court and making the most of her opportunities. In the season opener for Wright’s first game with LBSU, Tucker went for a then-career-high 25 points, going 4-7 from beyond the arc.
“It wasn’t anything like I came in and said [Savannah] is going to be the girl,” Wright said. “What she does– and this is what every coach wants– is she makes it hard for me to take her off the floor because she does a lot of things really well, so she kind of put herself into that role.”
Wright’s vision for her team’s play style heading into the first year of her LBSU tenure involved quick offense and swinging the ball to find open shots from distance, and Tucker fit perfectly into that with her skillset. The 5’9 guard loves to push the pace quickly off of long rebounds, and is a proven shooter beyond the arc.
Improving from last season, Tucker has had an uptick in scoring from 12.4 points per game to 15.5, while also taking on a new role as the lead playmaker for The Beach, averaging three assists per game.
Senior guard Savannah Tucker drives into the lane against Cal State Fullerton on Dec. 5 at the Walter Pyramid. She was The Beach’s leading scorer with 16 points in an 67-56 rivalry win. Photo credit: Samuel Chacko
No game exemplifies the senior guard’s growth more than her stellar showing against California State University, Sacramento on Nov. 17.
Facing the Hornets on the road, Tucker put together a complete game, scoring a new career-high 29 points, along with seven boards and five assists.
With the score tied at 68-68 and less than a second remaining, she was fouled at the 0.8-second mark and calmly stepped to the free-throw line sinking the game-winning free throw to seal the LBSU victory.
In the biggest moments, Tucker says she relies on her vast amount of experience to keep herself steady.
“I’ve played a lot of basketball in my life and I’ve been under pressure before, and so I think my coaches and teammates had a lot of confidence in me,” Tucker said.
The charity stripe is not an unfamiliar spot for Tucker as her ability to strike fear into a defense nets her a team-high six free throws per game, more than double any other teammate.
“The last thing [teams] want to do is put people on the line so it makes the defense respect you a little bit more and help off more, which gets your teammates open,” Tucker said.
With Tucker leading the way, The Beach currently sits at 5-3 at this early stage in their season but they face a daunting task ahead of them on Dec. 14 when No.1-ranked UCLA comes to visit.
The undefeated Bruins shot up to the top spot of the AP women’s NCAA basketball poll after snapping the 43-game win streak of the defending national champion South Carolina Gamecocks on Nov. 24.
“It’s just an opportunity to play against some of the best girls right now,” Tucker said.
