The Long Beach State women’s basketball team trailed by 10 points with just over six minutes to play, but the University of Arizona used a late run to pull away with a 66-42 victory Sunday in front of 1,546 at the McKale Center.
The Wildcats went up by 13 points before LBSU’s Jhakia McDonald drained a 3-pointer to bring the 49ers within 10 at the 6:19 mark.
Arizona then regrouped, though, and finished strong as it used a late 17-2 surge to run away with the victory.
In that stretch, LBSU (3-7) committed six fouls and five turnovers, and missed four of five shots.
The Wildcats (8-1) shot 37.9 percent from the field and held the 49ers to 29.8 percent. They also owned a significant advantage at the free throw line as they went 18-for-25, while LBSU was 6-of-9. In addition, Arizona won the battle on the boards, 52-30.
Senior Tipesa Moorer led Long Beach with 14 points and four rebounds. Sophomore Hallie Meneses chipped in seven points and had the 49ers‘ only two assists of the game.
LBSU was unable to connect on its first five attempts of the afternoon, three of which were from beyond the arc, but Meneses eventually got LBSU on the board at the 17:44 mark as she drove down the lane for a layup.
Arizona then went on top, 9-4, before the 49ers scored six unanswered points, capped by a pair of free throws from Mary Ochiltree, to take their first lead at 10-9 with 12:56 to play.
The Wildcats were quick to respond, however, using an 18-6 run over the next seven minutes to go up, 27-16. Long Beach was able to cut the deficit back down to single digits, but Arizona scored the last four points of the half to hold a 33-20 edge at the break.
LBSU shot 30.8 percent from the field, while the Wildcats hit 36.4 percent of their shots in the first period. Moorer and Meneses paced the 49ers with nine and seven points, respectively.
Arizona opened the second half on a 7-2 spurt to pull ahead, 40-22, but the 49ers answered with a 14-4 run of their own, which ended with a pair of free throws from Chantel Dooley, closing the gap to eight (44-36) with 9:06 remaining.
Aley Rohde led the Wildcats with a game-high 21 points and 13 rebounds. Erica Barnes also finished with a double-double, registering 13 points and 12 boards.
Long Beach will return to the Walter Pyramid on Friday when it kicks off a six-game homestand with a 7 p.m. nonconference showdown against Dartmouth.
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