Long Beach State (4-16, 2-7) looked to change the tide heading into promotions week and be back at full strength with senior Tyresha Calhoun and freshmen Ashley Bookman returning to the lineup.
Unfortunately, the Gold Game wasn’t as rich and dandy as the lady 49ers were hoping it would be, as the team fell short once again to UC Davis 51-48.
It was the same story on a different day, as Long Beach State out-shot, out-rebounded, and out-played the Aggies for the majority of the game. But like the loss on Jan. 10 against UC Davis, 51-49, too many turnovers cost the 49ers the game and have proven to be the Achilles’ heel all season long.
Both teams at the halfway mark in the first half proved to be defense-worthy, as a total of 21 points were scored and a total of 11 turnovers were made.
The scoring started at about the five-minute mark when freshman LaTorya Barbee made her first two shots inside the paint, along with redshirt freshman Melanie Lisnock hitting a deep 3-pointer to help Long Beach on a 7-0 run and an early 11-4 lead. This would be the 49ers’ biggest lead of the night with 14:52 remaining in the second half.
Long Beach State maintained the lead for most of the first half, leading 23-17 with 3:35 remaining. But coming out of the timeout, the Aggies proved to be the better team, going on a 9-0 run before the half with the help of a couple three’s from forwards Haylee Donaghe and Heather Bates. This gave Davis its biggest lead of the half, 26-23.
After starting the game 5-10 from the field, Long Beach ended the half 5-19 shooting 36 percent. On the other side, Davis also shot a poor 37 percent in the first half.
Once again, the ineffectiveness of putting the ball in the basket proved to be the dagger for Long Beach State, as the 49ers went on a three-minute scoring drought and then an eight-minute scoring drought at the end of the game.
Karina Figueroa hit four free throws to bring the game back into reach at 44-40. The dry spell ended when Valeriya Musina hit a running floater and a three to bring the deficit back to one, 46-45.
The Aggies proved to be too much at the end, as Davis’ season-leading scorer, Jessica Campbell, hit a baseline jumper that gave the Aggies a three-point lead with 50 seconds left to play.
Long Beach State had one last shot at the end when down 51-48, but Musina was unable to get a good look with two defenders in her face and missed the shot wide.
Figueroa and Barbee each finished the night in double-digits, with Figueroa edging Barbee 11-10.
The 49ers finish promotions week on Saturday’s Think Pink event. The first 600 fans will receive a free T-shirt, and half of the evening’s proceeds will be donated to help fund research on breast cancer.
