By LBSU women’s basketball narrowly defeated the Cal State LA Golden Eagles 77-67 in an exhibition game at the Walter Pyramid Thursday night.
Although the Golden Eagles are a Division II program, they gave The Beach a challenge for all four quarters.
With just over 600 spectators in attendance, the high energy of the small crowd brought a larger sense of competition and gave The Beach the momentum they needed to pull out a close win.
The first quarter saw five lead changes and eight ties as Cal State LA led 24-22 at the end of the quarter after freshman guard Ashanti Dias hit a buzzer-beater to give it the lead.
After each team put up just over 20 points each in the first, the second quarter was an offensive struggle for both sides and the score going into halftime was 39-36 in favor of The Beach.
Long Beach State’s senior guard Patricia Chung posted a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds against Cal State LA on Nov. 6 at the Walter Pyramid. The Beach won the exhibition game 77-67. Photo Credit: Devin Malast
Head coach Amy Wright noted the team struggled on their offense, but decided to look at the positive takeaways.
“We want it to be perfect, but it’s not gonna be,” Wright said. “The eyes in the locker room are saying we gotta get better and that’s very encouraging as a coach.”
Just after halftime, there was a notable shift in LBSU as they regained control of the game.
The Beach broke away with a 16-point lead thanks to Golden Eagle turnovers and stubborn paint defense. LBSU held Cal State LA to just eight points in the quarter as they jumped out to a 60-44 lead.
Sophomore forward Jada Crawshaw made her presence felt on both sides of the ball with 15 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.
Crawshaw was one of three Beach players to record a double-double with senior guard Patricia Chung putting up 10 points and grabbing 12 rebounds and senior guard Savannah Tucker posting 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Senior guard Savannah Tucker scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against Cal State LA on Nov. 6 at the Walter Pyramid. Long Beach State pulled out the win 77-67 in a tightly contested home performance. Photo Credit: Devin Malast
In the fourth quarter, LBSU held its biggest lead of the game with 17 points but allowed Cal State LA to come back and lessen the lead to single digits.
Although the Golden Eagles made a late push, there was not enough time on the clock and The Beach squeezed out a narrow win against a Division II opponent by the final score of 77-67.
LBSU maintained the lead for just over 31 of the 40 minutes played, but the score remained close throughout despite The Beach’s Division I ranking.
Wright has confidence going into their first official game of the season and acknowledged the team for fighting through their first time suiting up.
The Beach sit in fourth place in the first Big West coaches poll going into their first game of the season against The College of William & Mary on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid.
