IRVINE — If the Long Beach State women’s basketball team could change one thing about Saturday’s game against UC Irvine, it would probably be the way it played during the opening five minutes.
The 49ers found themselves on the receiving end of a 13-0 deficit they could not recover from in a 77-59 shellacking at the Bren Events Center.
“We were on our heels defensively and we were on our heels offensively,” LBSU head coach Jody Wynn said. “And you can’t do that to a team as experienced as [the Anteaters] are. We just played passive and scared in the first half.”
Despite holding a commanding 40-18 edge in points in paint, The Beach (3-14, 1-3 Big West Conference) had no answer for UCI’s screen and roll plays, which were an instrumental part of its stellar 54.9 field goal percentage (28-of-51).
“Whenever a team plays a [2-3] zone [defense], we settle for a lot of outside shots and mid-range jumpers,” LBSU forward Tipesa Moorer said. “But I definitely think that now that we see that driving to the basket helps, and that it works, and that we can do it. We’ll make that adjustment sooner rather than later.”
Meanwhile, The Beach held its own from the field as it finished with a 48.1 percent clip (25-of-52).
But the Anteaters (11-4, 3-0 Big West) were lights out from beyond the arc as they drained 11-of-20 (55 percent), while LBSU shot a lowly 3-for-14 (21.4 percent).
“I think our rotations today were very, very poor,” Wynn said. “And our defensive intensity and focus from two days later when it was so good. … You gotta give them credit, but 11-of-20 from the 3-point line is entirely too many open looks.”
Moorer led the ‘Niners with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while Courtney Jacob added 12. Brandi Henton chipped in with 11, but missed 8-of-13 shots, including her first six before scoring off a put back of her own miss in the opening minute of the second half.
Meanwhile, Mikah Maly-Karros paced the Anteaters with a double-double as she posted a game-high 25 points and 11 rebounds. Maly-Karros shot a scorching 10-of-13 from the field and was the only player to reach double figures in rebounding.
“I think I’ve always just been able to [score] kinda unorthodox,” Maly-Karros said. “My footwork is not really the best and my moves look a little off sometimes, but I really try to concentrate on the way I finish and that’s what enables me to score.”
The duo of Jacqueline Marshall and Jade Smith-Williams also added 18 points each for UCI and accounted for eight of the Anteaters’ 11 3-pointers on the night. Marshall and Smith-Williams each hit four from long distance.
Marshall keyed the 13-0 run to begin the contest as she sank three consecutive shots — two of which were 3s — and grabbed two steals in the process. In that span, the 49ers missed their first six shots and surrendered four offensive rebounds, all of which translated into second-chance points.
Moorer eventually stifled the run when Melanie Lisnock found her underneath the basket for the score with 14:57 remaining in the first half.
From there, both teams traded baskets before The Beach pulled to within 10 points, 33-23, with 2:04 left in the period as Ella Clark nailed a 3. But three turnovers for LBSU translated into six more points for UCI as the Anteaters held a 39-23 cushion at the break.
UCI took its largest lead of the contest, 51-30, with less than four minutes gone by in the second period after a 3 from Marshall. But the ‘Niners responded with an 8-0 run that was capped by a fastbreak layup from Lisnock with 13:14 left to play.
With the momentum on its side, though, The Beach was unable to rotate fast enough on UCI’s screens and score on the other end. As a result, it quickly dug itself into another 20-point hole, 60-40, after a continuation play from Maly-Karros with 10:42 remaining.
From there, the 49ers were unable catch a second wind as the Anteaters cruised to the 18-point victory.
The ‘Niners were out-rebounded, 32-25, and, as a result, gave up 21 second-chance points.
“Off the boards, we were nowhere to be found in the first half,” Wynn said. “We turned the ball over, were 1-for-10 from the 3-point line in the first half. But in the second half, the kids took the ‘I-don’t-care approach’ and we did a good job getting the ball in the paint.”
LBSU continues Big West action when it travels north for a pair of games against UC Davis on Thursday at 7 p.m. and Pacific next Saturday at 4 p.m.
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