By Senior guard Savannah Tucker closed out another close contest with her late-game heroics in Long Beach State women’s basketball’s 75-69 win over the UC Riverside Highlanders at the Walter Pyramid on Thursday.
Tucker made LBSU women’s basketball history as the 27th Beach player to reach 1,000 career points.
“[The record] wasn’t really in my head at the moment, I just knew my job was to put the ball in the basket,” Tucker said. “I knew it was going to be a tough game so I was just going out there and doing what I can.”
Coming off a 1-5 stretch in Big West play, the win moves The Beach to 9-6 in the conference and completed the season sweep of the Highlanders.
The LBSU offensive attack came out firing on all cylinders in the first quarter, scoring on their first three possessions to take a 7-0 lead.
On the verge of her 1,000-point milestone, there were no apparent nerves for Tucker, who led The Beach with a quick seven points in the quarter, including an and-one layup.
However, it was Highlander graduate guard Seneca Hackley who matched Tucker with seven of her own on perfect three-of-three shooting, aiding the Highlanders in tying it at 21 after the first period.
With The Beach’s momentum quickly slipping away, Tucker pulled up from three-point distance with a hand in her face to retake the lead and etch her name into LBSU history with her 1,000th point with the program.
After a tightly contested first half, a late 6-2 Highlander run gave them a narrow 37-36 lead at the break.
LBSU forward Mykelle Richards chipped in eight points on three of five shooting for The Beach in the half.
A 7-0 put the Highlanders up by eight, but Tucker stopped the bleeding for The Beach and scored five quick points to lead an 11-2 LBSU run to retake the lead at 50-49.
LBSU senior guard Patricia Chung goes up for a layup in The Beach’s 75-69 win over the Highlanders on Thursday at the Walter Pyramid. She scored seven points and added four rebounds on the night. Photo Credit: Devin Malast
LBSU forward Rachel Loobie scored six of her 15 points in the third, helping The Beach take a 55-52 lead into the final quarter.
“We’ve got to consistently push our runs,” LBSU head coach Amy Wright said. “We know there’s going to be ups and downs but we’ve shown what we are capable of.”
As The Beach took an early 60-53 lead, it was the clutch-time heroics of junior UCR guard Jordyn Marshall who kept the Highlanders in it with two three-point makes which sparked a 12-4 run.
Up one with 1:12 remaining in the contest, Tucker took the game into her own hands and drove hard right for a clutch layup, putting LBSU up three. She finished the game with 19 points on seven of ten shooting.
“She might be the best player in terms of performance in the conference this year, regardless of record, and I think that needs to be noted as well,” Wright said.
With UC Riverside still having a chance to score or tie it with a three, Loobie came up huge with her biggest play of the night, stealing an errant pass and setting up a dagger jumper from LBSU freshman guard JaQuoia Jones-Brown to seal the 75-69 victory.
The Beach return to action on the road on Saturday, Feb. 22, taking on UC Santa Barbara, who trails LBSU by one spot in the Big West standings.
Editor’s note: Corrected name in featured photo caption on Feb. 21, at 5:31 p.m.
