By The Long Beach State women’s basketball team looks to extend its win streak on the road as it travels to the northwest.
LBSU (1-5) will compete in the Lady Griz Classic, taking on the Oral Roberts (2-3) on Friday and playing the host team Montana (0-5) the following day.
Because of early struggles, head coach Jeff Cammon has been working with different starting lineups in order to find better results when the team goes small. The starters include four guards and one forward, which gives the team more space to spread the floor.
Long Beach has two double-digit scorers, with freshman guard Shanaijah Davison averaging 16.3 points and freshman guard Ma’Qhi Berry with 10 points per game off the bench. Davison found herself in the starting lineup after coming off the bench for the first four games of the season, and has improved the team’s overall offense.
This will be the first time in program history that the 49ers will take on Oral Roberts. The Golden Eagles have been an offensive threat the whole year with four double-digit scorers on the squad. Forward Maria Martinez leads the team with 11.0 points per game, while guard Sarah Garvie is second and averaging 10.8 points.
The 49ers were locked in offensively against Arizona, but the team will have to rely on defense to level with Oral Roberts. The Golden Eagles have averaged 64.4 points per game early on, while Long Beach has struggled to lock opponents down, giving up 75 points a game.
On the second game of a back to back, the 49ers will take on Montana, a team that has shared similar struggles with a 0-5 record to start the season. The short two game series between Long Beach and Montana is tied at 1-1.
The two teams will meet on Saturday for the first time since 2005, where the Lady Griz held off the Beach 58-57 in Missoula. In its first ever meeting in 2004, Long Beach defeated Montana 61-53 at the Walter Pyramid.
Montana is led by McKenzie Johnston, who averages 10.6 points and 3.2 assists. The Lady Griz average 56.8 points per game which gives the 49ers an advantage on the scoring end. This is the perfect opportunity for Long Beach to get back on track and make up for its poor start. If the 49ers are able to stay true to their offense and lock down on defense, they can come home with a few more wins.
