Taking care of the ball is something that the Long Beach State women’s basketball team might talk about and focus on in practice, but 28 turnovers led to the 49ers demise Thursday evening.
The 49ers (9-13, 4-5 Big West) were dominated in every statistical category en route to a 86-61 thrashing at the hands of UC Irvine (10-12, 6-3 Big West).
LBSU head coach Jody Wynn said that she expected her team to come out with more focus than they did.
“It’s hard to accept that we play harder in practice than we do come tip-off,” said Wynn. “I would have expected us to come out with more of a sense of urgency than we did.”
She added: “You can’t just turn the light switch on come game-time.”
The ‘Niners shot just 32.8 percent (20 of 61) from the field for the contest, while UCI connected on 46.4 percent (32 of 69) shooting.
The Beach was out-rebounded 46-36, including allowing the Anteaters to pull down 19 offensive boards.
The turnover differential was the most telling stat of the game, however, as the 49ers 28 turnovers led to 28 ‘Eater points. The ‘Niners were able to force UCI into 20 turnovers, but only turned them into 11 points on the other end.
After the game, Wynn was baffled by the amount of turnovers her squad committed.
“The turnovers are starting to become a joke again,” she said. “We had controlled it for a while, but it makes it’s difficult to control the game.”
LBSU looked focused to open the game, taking an early 8-2 lead. Once UCI got back on track, it was all Anteaters from then on. The ‘Eaters used an 11-3 run to break even with the 49ers at 13 apiece.
After a bit of back and forth play, LBSU found themselves with a three-point lead, 17-14 halfway through the first period. UCI then broke off a 18-0 run — which lasted 6:01 — to help them take a commanding 30-17 advantage.
The ‘Niners trailed 35-22 at the break, and the second half didn’t get much better.
LBSU was able to cut a 23-point Anteaters lead down to just 12 on two free throws from freshman Alex Sanchez with 10:41 left to play. UCI outscored The Beach 22-10 in the next five minutes to regain a commanding 24-point lead.
Senior forward Tipesa Moorer was the only 49er to score in double figures for the contest. Moorer scored 11 points on 5 of 11 shooting. The next highest scorer was Sanchez with nine points on 2 of 4 shooting, including 5 of 5 from the free throw line.
Five players scored in double figures for the Anteaters with sophomore forward Jacquelyn Marshall leading the charge. Marshall poured in a game-high 18 points on 7 of 13 shooting, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range. She also pulled down nine rebounds, including
Senior guard Kassandra McCalister finished just four assists shy of a triple-double. McCalister dropped 17 points on 7 of 16 shooting, while pulling down 10 boards and dishing out six assists.
The ‘Eaters scoring was rounded out by sophomore guard Kelly Meggs (12 points), junior guard Anete Klintsone (11 points) and senior guard Kiara Belen (10 points).
The 49ers will look to get back on track Saturday when they travel to UC Riverside. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Disclaimer: The Daily 49er is not responsible for Postings made on www.daily49er.wpengine.com. Persons commenting are solely responsible for Postings made on this website. Persons commenting agree to the Terms of Use of the website. If Postings do not abide by the Rules of Conduct or Posting Regulations as listed in the Postings Policy, the Daily 49er has all rights to delete Postings as it deems necessary. The Daily 49er strongly advises individuals to not abuse their First Amendment rights, and to avoid language suggestive of hate speech. This site also encourages users to make Postings relevant to the article or other Postings.