The biggest concern looming over the Long Beach State women’s basketball team before this season began was its youth. Now, the 49ers’ six freshmen are helping erase any question marks that might still arise.
Legendary college basketball announcer Dick Vitale would refer to Alex Sanchez, Devin Hudson, Lauren Spargo, Chantel Dooley, Bianka Balthazar and Sigrid Skorpen as ‘Diaper Dandies’. These names will also become synonymous with the winning culture that LBSU head coach Jody Wynn is working to bring to this program.
Coach Wynn said that this group of freshman are all at LBSU for good reasons.
“They’re a group of kids who are hungry,” she said. “They are here for the right reasons, and they’re here to bring Long Beach State basketball back to the top the [Big West] conference.”
The ‘Niners are now fourth in the Big West Conference with a 4-3 record, which is a far cry from the preseason polls that had them finishing dead last.
Sanchez believes that being slighted by the voters helped this youthful squad get to where they are now.
“Everybody said that we’re young, but we don’t use that as an excuse,” she said. “We like proving people wrong, and we use it as motivation.”
Hudson pointed out that just because this is a team composed mainly of underclassmen, it doesn’t take away from their desire to win basketball games.
“Everyone here wants to win and wants to prove people wrong,” she said. “It helps when you have all of us wanting to do something big.”
The six freshmen have combined to score 33.5 points per game for The Beach this season, with Sanchez leading the way, dropping nine per contest.
Sanchez is more than just a scorer, however, she is a do-it-all point-forward who can handle the ball and pass like a guard, or post up and create on the block. She also contributes 5.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.
Hudson, who recently returned from injury, has given The Beach an option that had not been there throughout the season — a legitimate post presence. Since her return, Hudson has cracked the starting line-up and logged two games with double-digit rebounds.
Spargo and Skorpen possess the ability to spread the floor with solid 3-point shooting range. On the season, the duo has connected on 24 of 98 from behind the arc.
Balthazar and Dooley are both able to create their own shot off the dribble and finish in traffic. Together, they contribute 10.9 points per contest on 31.4 percent shooting.
Coach Wynn said the success of these six players has a lot to do with their great work ethic.
“Their work ethic is paying off and it’s nice when you don’t have to drag people,” she said. “They are here to help change the culture back to a winning one.”
Wynn was quick to point out that the lone senior, Tipesa Moorer, has taken the youngsters under her wing.
“Tipesa [Moorer] has been a really good leader for us,” Wynn said. “She has always been very motherly off the floor, she has helped them [the freshmen] tremendously.”
Sanchez was also very complimentary of the way Moorer helps out the younger players.
“She [Tipesa] sends us a mass text everyday,” Sanchez said. “She tells us what’s going on for the day, and in practice she might get in your face, but it prepares you for the games.”
With Moorer departing at the end of this season, she is leaving the 49ers women’s basketball team in the hands of six players who are more than capable of leading the program in the right direction.
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