If the Long Beach State women’s basketball team could’ve asked for one wish Friday night, it probably would’ve been to replay the first half of its home opener at the Walter Pyramid.
Indeed, the 49ers (0-3), who trailed by as many as 20 points with 6:44 left to play, turned what could’ve been its third consecutive drubbing into a respectable 88-76 loss to Oregon.
“I told [the team] as soon as we walked into the locker room that the scoreboard was a liar tonight,” LBSU head coach Jody Wynn said. “They left their hearts out on the floor tonight and that’s all I asked for.”
The Beach’s 22-14 surge to close out the contest was sparked by its two leading scorers — Brandi Henton, who registered the team’s first double-double since Feb. 20, and Amanda Sims — who both came off the bench.
Henton finished with a game-high 25 points to go along with 11 rebounds, while Sims added 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting.
“Coach [Wynn] kept telling me that it was my night,” Henton said. “I just wanted to show our coaches that I can play hard and I can help this team.”
Meanwhile, the Ducks (2-0) received an all-around effort with five players scoring in double figures. Nia Jackson led the team with 21 points, while Deanna Weaver tallied a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The ‘Niners only lead of the contest came shortly after they won the tip off as Ella Clark cleaned up a missed jumper by Ashley Bookman. But the Ducks stormed back with a 15-2 run that was capped off by back-to-back buckets from Ashley Buis, which included the first of her three 3-pointers on the night.
The Beach clawed back to within five points after Henton’s turnaround jumper with 11:14 remaining in the half. But the ‘Niners couldn’t find a way to contain the Ducks’ transition points, which helped them ignite a 13-6 run to end half with a 47-27 lead.
LBSU stood its ground for nearly the first 13 minutes of the second-half as it traded baskets with the Ducks before it went on a 6-0 spurt that was led by Henton after she started attacking the basket.
But turnovers and questionable fouls would end up costing the ‘Niners too much time off the clock as Sims’ five unanswered points to end the game ended up being too little, too late.
“We’re here to change the program and we hadn’t been doing that the last two games,” Henton said. “But I think tonight, we started to.”
Although LBSU shot a season-high 40.5 percent to the Ducks’ 32.6 percent, the ‘Niners were unable to rotate on defense fast enough as OU knocked down 9 shots from beyond the arc.
The ‘Niners also grabbed a season-high 66 boards to the Ducks’ 55, but OU’s full-court press forced LBSU to commit a whopping 31 turnovers.
“There’s good things to come from this team if we don’t have to coach effort,” Wynn said. “But we played on a whole different level tonight as far as intensity-wise and that was a good team we played with a hall of fame coach.”
LBSU returns to action Sunday as it travels to USC for a nonconference contest. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
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