NORTHRIDGE — After a wild comeback at the Matadome on Tuesday night, the Long Beach State women’s basketball team has punched its ticket to the Honda Center for the semi-finals of the Big West tournament.
The No. 7-seeded ‘Niners (13-17) used a 31-4 second half run to knock off No. 2 Cal State Northridge, 57-52.
The Matadors led 31-20 at the half and scored the first eight of the second frame to open up a 19-point lead. From there, the Beach outscored Northridge 37-13 en route to the victory.
LBSU head coach Jody Wynn said even though the team trailed by 19, it never lost its will to make the right plays.
“We couldn’t do anything in the first half, we couldn’t buy a basket,” she said. “Our team has been through a lot this year. It was a beautiful thing to watch how unselfishly we played.”
Wynn added: “We did a fantastic job making the extra pass. They were sincerely willing to make the extra pass, there was never a ‘my turn’ shot.”
The run began with a 13-1 spurt that included a pair of 3-pointers from Lauren Spargo. The freshman guard scored 11 off the bench and grabbed two rebounds for the contest.
The Beach was paced by senior forward Tipesa Moorer who led all scorers with 14 points to go along with a team-high 8 rebounds, two assists and two steals.
“I’m proud of Tipesa,” Wynn said. “She has really come a long way. She was outmatched by three of four inches and [outplayed] their bigs.”
“We had to chip it away one possession at a time, one basket, one stop at a time,” Moorer said. “We encourage each other and demand from each other on the court.”
Moorer added: “We have a team where anyone is capable of making a big shot or play.”
Sophomore guard Hallie Meneses contributed to the comeback with eight points and a game-high seven assists.
The Matadors were led by senior center Jasmine Erving who compiled a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. She also had four steals.
Freshman guard Janae Sharpe also scored 13 for Northridge to go along with two assists and a rebound.
Northridge got off to an extremely slow start, missing 10 consecutive field goal attempts after making its first of the game.
The Beach, however, could only turn the woeful Matador shooting into a 7-4 lead.
Northridge went on to knock down 12 of 22 shots to end the half. A 3-pointer at the buzzer from freshman guard Janae Sharpe gave the Matadors its first double-digit lead, 31-20, at the break.
Northridge shot 13-33 (39.4 percent) in the first half and held the Beach to 9-27 (33.3).
Turnovers were also a factor in the early deficit for LBSU. The ‘Niners had 13 in the first half alone, while only forcing seven.
The Beach will play its second round matchup against Cal Poly University at the Honda Center on Friday at noon.
“We are going to have to play very good defense on [senior center Kristina] Santiago, as the highest scorer in the conference,” Moorer said. “They have very capable shooters and scorers.”
I think if Long Beach state’s season were to end in women’s hoops, better that it’s in the BWC final cause it’s only fair. Regardless of what happens on Saturday, this is the way to salvage what has otherwise been a tough year for the ladies.