For the first time in several seasons, the Long Beach State women’s basketball team is riding a three-game win streak.
The 49ers erased a 13-point deficit with just over six minutes remaining in the second half to pull out a 65-62 victory over UC Santa Barbara Saturday night at the Walter Pyramid.
LBSU (11-13, 7-4 Big West Conference) trailed UCSB by five points with 2:36 left to play, before Melanie Lisnock connected on a 3-pointer to cut the Gaucho lead to 58-56.
The Beach was in the double bonus when UCSB’s Megan Williams fouled senior guard Karina Figueroa, sending Figueroa to the free-throw line with an opportunity to even the score.
Figueroa, a 79 percent free-throw shooter, missed both attempts from the foul line.
After a key steal by senior Lauren Sims, Figueroa found Lisnock in the corner, who knocked down a crucial 3. Lisnock’s 3-pointer with 41 seconds on the game clock gave the 49ers their first lead, 59-58, since early in the opening period.
UCSB(8-16, 5-7 Big West) inched to within three, 63-60, after Mekia Valentine made a pair of free throws, but with time running out, the Gauchos were forced to foul.
Sims, who finished with 11 points, sank both shots from the charity stripe with under 10 seconds left, to seal the win for the ‘Niners.
“We committed ourselves to being the best last four minute team in the conference and again we proved it,” Figueroa said.
The senior scored a game-high 24 points for The Beach and also dished out six assists. It was her second consecutive 20-point performance.
LBSU head coach Jody Wynn said, “it’s a great feeling when you’ve got a leader like Karina, who puts the team on her back and then to get clutch performances out of Knox [Lisnock] and steals out of Ashley [Bookman].”
LBSU made 21-of-57 (36.8 percent) shots from the field and 11-of-24 (45.8 percent) of shots from beyond the arc.
The Beach did not make a single trip to the foul line during the first half, but went on to shoot 70.6 percent (12-for-17) from the line in the second half, including going 6-for-8 down the stretch.
Lisnock said during a huddle, the team talked about not waiting until the final four minutes to get hyped up for the contest.
“All of us agreed that we need to do it now, and we just wanted it more than they did,” Lisnock said.
Senior forward Ally Wade contributed 11 points in the win for the 49ers and went 4-for-4 from the line. Wade also pulled down a team-high six rebounds.
Leading the way for the Gauchos was Valentine, who finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Emilie Johnson added 16 points and eight boards for UCSB.
LBSU goes on the road next week for a pair of Big West games. The 49ers take on UC Davis on Thursday and Pacific on Saturday.
Following the game, Wynn said she told the team in the locker room to make sure they pack their toughness, passion and heart in their suitcases.
Wynn said,”It was a no-quit attitude, our girls are hungry, they got a little fight in them and hopefully we’ll ride it up to Nor Cal.”