The Long Beach State women’s basketball team saved its best for last Thursday in its final regular-season home game at the Walter Pyramid.
The 49ers gave their home crowd more than enough reasons to celebrate as they rallied from a 12-point deficit in the second half for a 70-68 overtime victory over UC Riverside on Senior Night.
Ella Clark poured in a career-high 18 points on an impressive 8-of-11 shooting to lead the ‘Niners (7-19, 6-7 Big West Conference) to their second consecutive upset over a top-3 conference opponent and first three-game winning streak of the year.
It was also the team’s fifth win in its last seven contests.
“To win two games back-to-back against some really good opponents is a great testament to our kids’ desire and fight that they have in them,” LBSU head coach Jody Wynn said.
Meanwhile, 49ers forward Courtney Jacob added 17 points and five rebounds, to go with three steals and two blocks. Brandi Henton chipped in with 13 points, but none bigger than the game-winning 3 she hit in the final minute of the contest.
LBSU jumped out to a quick 67-64 edge in overtime before the Highlanders responded with a brief 4-0 spurt capped by a backdoor layup from Jazzmin Lewis with 1:21 left to play.
Trailing 68-67, the ‘Niners kept their poise after two defensive breakdowns as Henton responded with a dagger 3 from the left wing with 1:07 left on the clock.
After a brief exchange of possessions, the Highlanders blew away two opportunities to tie the game.
First, it was Brittany Waddell’s baseline jumper that clanked off the back of the rim before UCR collected the miss. Then, the Highlanders kicked it back out to Waddell again, but she was called for an offensive foul with 2.8 seconds left on the clock after charging into Ashley Bookman in the paint.
“The kids that take [the charges] are the same kids that take it day in and day out for us,” Wynn said. “And they sacrificed their bodies all over the floor tonight,”
The crowd then burst into cheers as the LBSU bench rushed on to the court to celebrate, as the 49ers avoided an intentional foul and ran out the clock for the victory.
“I’ve said to [the team] all year long, ‘We can beat anybody or we can lose to anybody,'” Wynn said. “It’s about our focus, our intensity, and how hard we want to play defensively and off the boards.
“And our girls wanted to win it and step it up big for our seniors tonight, and I’m really proud of them for figuring out how to play the whole way through the second half.”
Rhaya Neabors paced the Highlanders with 18 points and eight rebounds, but missed 11 of 17 from the field. Waddell added 13 second-half points — seven of which were free throws — and shot just 3 for 11.
Meanwhile, Alyssa Morris — who leads UCR in scoring this season — scored 11 on 4-of-6 shooting, but fouled out of the game with 2:51 left in regulation.
Trailing 56-44 with 9:23 left in regulation, the ‘Niners embarked on a 14-4 run capped by a fastbreak layup from Jacob, resulting in a continuation after Morris picked up her fifth foul.
After a series of free throws, the Highlanders held a 62-59 edge before Clark buried a 3-pointer from the baseline to even up the score with 1:32 remaining.
Both teams then exchanged baskets until Waddell threw an off-target pass intended for Neabors, but was intercepted by Jacob with 13.2 seconds left.
From there, The Beach put the ball in the hands of Jacob, who passed up on a 15-foot baseline jumper and drove into the basket, instead. However, her right toe stepped out-of-bounds on her way to the paint with 2.8 seconds to go.
With no time-outs remaining, UCR heaved a last-second prayer from beyond half court that fell short of the backboard, sending the game into overtime with the score tied at 64.
Despite being outshot 42.1 percent (24 of 57) to UCR’s 45.5 percent (25 of 55), the Beach drained nine 3’s to the Highlanders’ three.
LBSU will close out the regular season with a three-game road trip beginning next Thursday against UC Santa Barbara (15-10, 9-4 Big West) at the Thunderdome. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The last meeting between the two teams resulted in a decisive 70-43 victory for the Gauchos in the Big West season opener at the Pyramid on Dec. 30, 2010.
Game notes
LBSU paid tribute to its three seniors — Bookman, Jacob, and Melanie Lisnock — after the contest with a brief ceremony in honor of their final regular-season home game.
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