LOS ANGELES — A slow start left little hope for the Long Beach State women’s basketball team in Monday night’s road loss to Loyola Marymount, 74-43, at Gersten Pavillion.
The Lions (1-1) did not hesitate to pile on the points against the seemingly over-matched 49ers. LMU went on a 26-0 run to start the game, not allowing The Beach (0-2) to score until there was 9:28 left to play in the half. LBSU’s first points came from a pair of free throws by sophomore Amanda Sims.
“These slow starts are killing us,” 49ers head coach Jody Wynn said. “We’re working hard to improve it and our inexperience is no excuse.”
LMU shot 37.7 percent from the field, while holding the 49ers to 28.8 percent. They also out-rebounded The Beach 51-34.
Wynn attributed several factors to the slow start.
“We couldn’t make a basket, couldn’t get offensive rebounds and started with four turnovers,” she said.
The second-year head coach stuck with a predominately inexperienced lineup as she started three freshmen — Ella Clark, Sendy Valles and Brandi Henton. Also, freshman Janae Coffee logged 24 minutes and posted team highs of eight points and seven rebounds.
Alex Cowling paced the Lions with 19 points and nine rebounds, while Hazel Ramirez contributed 15 points. Candice Nichols also chipped in 13 points, four assists and four steals.
Valles tried to spark the 49ers as she scored a basket and quickly ran down court to steal the ball right back. But LBSU failed to finish the play as junior Alyssa Starkey missed the layup to leave LMU up 30-10 with 5:24 left in the opening half.
The Beach’s best run came with 1:30 left in the first half when Tipesa Moorer hit the team’s first 3-point field goal. That was followed by another shot from beyond the arc on the 49ers’ next possession by Clark to make it 40-19.
LMU freshman Hazel Ramirez did not allow the 49ers’ to go into halftime on a high note as she hit a buzzer-beating field goal to end the half at 42-19.
LBSU did not start the second half much better as it fell victim to a 14-2 run in the first 5:48 of the half to go down 56-21 — the largest deficit to that point.
The 49ers responded with a 6-0 run of their own midway through the second half, but it was too little, too late. The Lions’ lead was too much for the ‘Niners to overcome as LMU continued to play solid ball and never let up.
Wynn said injuries are hurting The Beach as it forces players into roles they aren’t ready for.
“We’re asking role players to be skill players,” Wynn said. “And they are just not ready for that yet.”
The Beach returns to action as it hosts Oregon in its home opener on Friday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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