Like its last game against CS Fullerton, shots were dropping, rebounds were made and defense was spectacular for the Long Beach State women’s basketball team.
But this time, the results were worth it, and LBSU trumped the Titans 80-62 Thursday night at The Walter Pyramid.
The win was the 49ers’ (6-18, 4-8) most lopsided win of the season. LBSU’s final home game was its most impressive performance this season, as the 49ers shot 47 percent for the game – 54 percent in the first half – and held the Titans to 36-percent shooting for the game.
LBSU also kept leading scorer Toni Thomas contained for both halves. Thomas struggled against the 49ers’ double-team defense, but was just as troubled against sophomore forward Brett Timmons.
Timmons’ constant pressure on Thomas forced the forward into several bad shots and a dismal 4-11, 11-point shooting night. Timmons managed to grab nine rebounds as LBSU decimated CSF in the paint.
The 49ers out-rebounded the Titans 46-30 and had 46 points in the paint, 32 more than CSF (16 points). LBSU made several easy shots throughout both halves, many of them coming from freshman guard LaTorya Barbee, who had a phenomenal game with 15 points on 8-14 shooting.
Barbee, who had five turnovers in LBSU’s 75-66 loss at Fullerton last month, only had one turnover in the rematch.
Head coach Mary Hegarty said the team focused heavily on rebounds and turnovers before the game.
“All week in practice, we kept working on [rebounds and turnovers],” Hegarty said. “We wanted to value our possessions.”
And turnovers were the ultimate difference for LBSU, which cut its turnovers down to 13 – 10 less than its last game against the Titans. CSF, meanwhile, had 15 turnovers, 10 of which were in the first half.
Junior guard Karina Figueroa played her usually solid game and scored 13 points with five assists. She also had a game-high four steals.
But the performance of the game went to senior point guard Tyresha Calhoun, who had a tremendously spirited performance in her final home game as a 49er.
Calhoun scored 12 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out five assists, acting as the catalyst behind the team’s dominance in the paint. Calhoun’s highlight turnaround jumper late in the second half was part of a three-point play that brought several family members and LBSU fans to their feet. It also gave the 49ers a 20-point lead with less than two minutes left in the game.
Calhoun knew it was her final game at The Walter Pyramid, but continued to speak of the team’s momentum going into Saturday’s road game against a desperate 1-21 Cal State Northridge team.
“We all knew we had to come out and play today,” Calhoun said. “We knew we could beat Fullerton, and it’s going to be a lot of momentum for the tournament, because anybody can beat anybody.”
Hegarty had her own words for the team’s only senior.
Hegary was “really impressed with her performance. She rebounded well and played great defense without making any mistakes. Her leadership would be great for us for the rest of the season.”
LBSU led for 39 of the 40 minutes of the game and jumped out to a 36-24 lead in the first half behind Barbee’s 11 points. The 49ers led 46-28 at the half and would keep a lead as big as nine, despite beginning the second half scoreless for the first three minutes of the second half.
CSF’s chances lived and died by the 3-point shot, as it missed 16 of its 24 shots from beyond the arc, far removed from a 6-15 performance at the Titan Gym against the 49ers.
LBSU, meanwhile, was very patient throughout the game and took timely, accurate shots. The Titans were unable to contain LBSU’s pick-and-roll onslaught, and the team’s 18 offensive boards helped keep LBSU in control of the game.
LBSU had four players score double figures, all of them guards – Barbee, Figueroa, Calhoun and sophomore Lauren Sims, who was 2-4 from the 3-point line and scored 12 points. Aside from the performances of Calhoun, Figueroa and Sims, Hegarty was pleased with the near-flawless play of her starting freshman point guard.
“[Barbee’s] a super-talented kid,” Hegarty said. “She’s really solid with the ball. She played more of a complete game [tonight].”
The 49ers’ four-game road trip to end the regular season will begin against the Matadors, who secured their first win of the season tonight with a 73-72 shocker at CS Bakersfield on Saturday night at the Matadome. Tough games at UC Irvine, Cal Poly and conference-leading UC Santa Barbara follow, and Hegarty said this game could hopefully be a sign of more evenings like this for her seventh-place 49ers.
“If we don’t take care of business, we may not be in [the Big West Conference Tournament],” Hegarty said. “Momentum’s always important.”
