By snoadmin
Junior center Whitney Fields responded to head coach Mary Hegarty’s decision to bring her off the bench on Monday night.
Fields scored a career-high 30 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead the Long Beach State women’s basketball team to a 74-61 victory over New Mexico State at the Walter Pyramid.
“We’ve had a little bit of a focus issue, and I didn’t feel like her focus was where it needed to be earlier today in the shootaround,” Hegarty said about the benching. “She responded just like I hoped she would and was ready to go. Regardless of who we’re playing or what our record is, we’ve got to have standards.”
Fields, who was also benched for the first half against Brigham Young, connected on 13-of-17 shots from the field to put an end to the 49ers’ three-game losing streak.
“That really motivated me,” Fields said. “I wasn’t focusing, I wasn’t on the right track.”
Guard Adelle Walton added 10 points and six assists for the ‘Niners, while Courtney Jacob chipped in nine points, six assists and six rebounds. Brett Timmons grabbed a game- and career-high 11 rebounds to help LBSU win the battle of the boards, 42-40.
Madison Spence paced the Aggies with 19 points — including 14 in the second half — while Kaitlyn Soto added 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting.
LBSU (3-7) cut down on its turnovers in the contest. Averaging 21.6 turnovers per game entering tonight, the 49ers committed just five before the intermission and 10 for the game.
“We played as a team and had confidence in each other,” Walton said.
The 49ers were connecting from everywhere but the free-throw line (9-of-19), which kept NMSU in the game. However, the Aggies converted just 11-of-25 from the charity stripe in the contest.
With the ‘Niners leading by 15 at the half, Spence caught fire to start the second half for NMSU (4-7).
After missing all four of her 3-point attempts in the first half, Spence opened the second half with back-to-back 3s to cut the deficit to 40-31 with 17:46 to play. Spence added a third long-range bomb and a traditional 3-point play with 15:14 remaining to cut into the double-digit deficit and bring the Aggies to within 46-37.
It was also a parade to the line for the Aggies, who attempted 19 free throws in the second half.
A Soto 3-pointer and bucket brought NMSU to within 63-53 with under eight minutes to play, but Fields responded with numerous buckets in the paint.
“I was happy with the way the team responded [to the tough calls],” Fields said.
Leading 67-55 with under five minutes to play, the 49ers received a 3-pointer in the corner from Lauren Sims to keep distance and pull away.
Plagued by slow starts so far this season, LBSU benefitted from hot shooting — and kind home rims — in the first half.
A Timmons jumper gave the 49ers a quick 10-4 lead within the first three minutes.
“Obviously, we’ve been really trying to focus on getting a better start,” Hegarty said. “I think it really started with our defense and rebounding.”
The Aggies, a former Big West Conference member, responded by hitting 7 of their first 15 shots, but LBSU went on a 7-0 run capped by an Ally Wade 3-pointer to take a 27-18 lead with 6:15 left in the half. NMSU, which has dropped four of its last five games, went nearly four minutes without a basket until Spence’s runner in the lane with 4:25 remaining in the half.
The ‘Niners, who led by as many as 17, finished the first half shooting 54.8 percent (17-of-31) from the field, including 5-of-8 from the 3-point line. LBSU entered the locker room with a 40-25 lead.
Fields led all scorers at the break with 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Walton and Jacob chipped in six points and combined for nine of the team’s 13 assists. Jacob also pulled down six rebounds.
Senior guard Tyshae Walton paced the Aggies with six points at the break.
LBSU returns to the court at Fresno State next Monday at 7 p.m. before beginning Big West play.
