By Size inside was the clear advantage for the Matadors of Cal State Northridge (10-10) Saturday as Long Beach State was unable to get shots to fall in the paint, ultimately falling 51-37 in the Walter Pyramid.
The 49ers started the game off shooting well, with two big catch-and-shoot three pointers from grad transfer guard Sydney Bordonaro along with sophomore forward Naomi Hunt getting in on the action from deep as well. Unfortunately for Long Beach (5-13, 2-3 Big West), it was unable to keep the rhythm Northridge (10-10, 4-2 Big West) set throughout the game.
“One thing we’ve been struggling with is momentum in games,” head coach Jeff Cammon said. “We hit a little rough patch. We don’t compete as hard, we’re not as focused, so it takes a maturity to play through adversity.”
In the second and third quarters, the 49ers only connected on 4-of-29 shots, due to the stifling defense from the Matadors’ twin-tower centers: junior Lauren Shymkewicz and senior Channon Fluker.
“Northridge does a good job with their big line up of forcing you to take perimeter shots and we have to be more comfortable and aggressive attacking the basket,” Cammon said. “You can’t take … three free throw attempts, we got to do a better job of getting to the free throw line and putting a little bit more pressure.”
Even with the 49ers finding their footing again in the fourth quarter, the inability to get the ball in the basket throughout the game was the ultimate undoing for the Beach.
The effort was clearly there as the 49ers and Matadors alike were diving for 50-50 chance balls and routinely forcing jump-balls, but it was too great of a gap to overcome.
“They play hard, they have a resilient spirit, they believe in what we’re doing, and it’s going to turn. It just takes some time.” Cammon said. “I know we want to get to the top right now and that’s where we’re headed.”
LBSU will look to improve its conference record Thursday at 6 p.m. at UC Davis’ Pavillion.
