The Long Beach State women’s basketball team watched helplessly as Cal State Fullerton’s Mya Olivier’s wide open lay up attempt spun around the rim as the final seconds slowly ticked away.
Luckily for them, the ball spun out as quickly as it spun in.
Unfortunately for the ‘Niners, however, the Titans were awarded possession of the ball after a held ball was called with ten seconds remaining — giving superstar senior Megan Richardson one more chance to come to the rescue.
While Richardson was unable to find the late-game heroics — losing the ball while attempting to create space, LBSU (12-17, 7-9 Big West Conference) freshman Alex Sanchez put her team on her back in the waining seconds.
With the ‘Niners trailing by two, 61-59, LBSU head coach Jody Wynn dialed up a play for Sanchez coming out of a timeout. The freshman drove by her defender, and connected on a bucket, tying the game at 61.
On the 49ers’ next possession, Sanchez drew a foul, sending her to the free throw line with 41 seconds to play. Sanchez split the pair at the charity stripe, giving the ‘Niners a 62-61 lead in which they would never relinquish.
Wynn said that Sanchez having the ball in key moments of games is not something that should not surprise anybody.
“That’s [giving Alex the ball in key situations] something we’ve done all year,” she said. “She can handle the ball like a point guard, but also score with her back to the basket down low.”
Wynn added: “She’s so sure-handed that she wasn’t going to get the ball stripped, and she was going to be able to make a pass out of a double team. She used her body to get to the basket.”
Sanchez felt that she needed to step up to help her team win.
“I just knew I had to step up,” she said. “I didn’t score as much in the second half as I did in the first half. I had to step up and be a leader.”
It was a game of runs that saw each team get their fair share of them.
The Titans (11-17, 4-11 Big West) opened the second half with an 11-4 spurt, giving them a 40-37 lead after trailing by eight at half time.
The ‘Niners answered right back with a 9-0 run of their own, re-taking the lead, 46-40 with 12:29 left to play.
Fullerton outscored The Beach 12-2 over the next seven minutes, adding yet another lead change to an already fickle contest. The Titans took a 57-53 lead with 5:00 to play after a 3-pointer from Richardson and a bucket from Olivier.
The final five minutes of the contest was a back-and-forth affair, with both teams battling free-throw for free-throw, as LBSU connected on 5 of 8 from the charity stripe in the final 3:21.
Wynn said that she was proud of the way her team battled for the victory.
“I’m really proud of our kids, and the fight and intensity from tip-off to the final buzzer,” she said. “It [the effort] was much more consistent tonight than it was on Tuesday night.”
She added: “Although we turned the ball over and gave up offensive rebounds, I thought we did a phenomenal job.”
Senior Tipesa Moorer paced the ‘Niners on Senior Night, scoring 20 points on an efficient 10 of 14 shooting. Sanchez added 14 points on 4 of 5 from the field and 6 of 8 from the charity stripe.
Sophomore guard Hallie Meneses rounded out the scoring for LBSU, finishing with 11 points on 4 of 9 shooting.
The 49ers shot 57.5 percent from the field for the contest, while holding the Titans to just 34.9 percent.
The ‘Niners were able to mount an 18-4 run that lasted nearly eight minutes of the opening period to take a 33-25 lead into the break.
The difference in shooting percentage between the two teams was the key of the first half. The 49ers connected on 63.6 percent (14 of 22) of their shots, while Fullerton shot just 27.8 percent (10 of 36) from the field.
As always, Richardson led the Fullerton attack, scoring 18 points on 8 of 14 shooting while pulling down five rebounds.
Senior guard Lauren Chow scored 15 points, but shot just 5 of 20 from the field. Olivier was slowed by foul trouble in the first half, but finished with 14 points on 4 of 11 shooting while grabbing six rebounds.
LBSU will now prepare for the first round of the Big West Conference tournament beginning on Tuesday.