After overcoming injuries and defying all odds in 2011-12 to finish as runners-up at the Big West Conference tournament, the Long Beach State women’s basketball team is heading into this season with a renewed sense of pride and confidence.
There’s a distinct swagger within the team now, and eight letter winners are returning with last season’s Cinderella run under their belts. Although LBSU was picked to finish fifth in the conference, head coach Jody Wynn is adamant that the team’s ultimate goal is to claim its first Big West title in 21 years.
“If we take it one game at a time and get a little bit better every day by staying and playing together,” Wynn said, “our goal at the end of the year is to get to the Honda Center and have a chance to win the conference championship.”
The 49ers finished seventh in the nine-team conference last season with a record of 14-18 overall (7-9 Big West). The ‘Niners then went on to write history in the postseason, becoming the first team ever to eliminate each of the top two seeds in the Big West tournament. They ultimately lost a closely-contested game to UC Santa Barbara in the final round.
This year, Wynn will have to shuffle the projected starting lineup, as point guard Hallie Meneses sustained a knee injury during practice last month. The junior tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and will be sidelined for the entire season.
The injury to Meneses is a massive disappointment for the team, as she was coming off a postseason average of 10.3 points and 4 assists per game and earned a place on the Big West All-Tournament Team. After being earmarked to facilitate the offense, she notched 105 assists for the season to lead the team. She also played a critical role defensively with 47 steals – second among the 49ers last season.
“It’s unfortunate that we lost our starting point guard,” Wynn said. “We’ll miss the intangibles she brings to the team. She was an improving player. She played at a very high level towards the end of the last season and this year, we were expecting her to play very well.”
More experience
For the first time in three years, more than half of Wynn’s roster consists of players with NCAA Division I experience.
“We’ll have to play together as a team to make up for Hallie’s loss,” Wynn said “We’re hopeful that everyone else will be healthy to start the season. Losing Hallie is disappointing, but we hope the rest of the team will be healthy and ready to go.”
Center Devin Hudson, another Big West All-Tournament selection, will spearhead the ‘Niners alongside guard Alex Sanchez, the team’s top returning scorer. The sophomore pair developed a potent inside-outside game last season, as Hudson averaged a double-double with 11.3 points and 10.3 rebounds in the postseason while Sanchez garnered All-Big West honorable mention recognition.
Joining the list of returnees are senior guard Mary Ochiltree and a sophomore quartet of Bianka Balthazar, Chantel Dooley, Sigrid Skorpen and Lauren Spargo. Additionally, forwards Ella Clark and Sendy Valles are coming off their redshirt freshman years to bolster the ‘Niners’ frontcourt.
Newcomers include junior transfer Jade Wilson and freshmen Yana Dellavedova and Gabby Kaiser. Wilson led Mesa to the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference Division II championship last season as a forward. Dellavedova was a standout guard at Ballarat Clarendon College in Australia, and Kaiser is coming off her senior year at Mission Viejo High School. She averaged 18.4 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per contest playing forward for the Diablos.
Starting five unclear
Although the 49ers are returning majority of their players from last season’s relative success, Wynn intends on testing the waters before making the final decisions on her starting lineup. She is even considering the option of altering the lineup every game depending on the matchup.
“I haven’t decided who will start and who won’t,” Wynn said. “We look to play as a team and we’ll take everything on a game to game basis.”
With the season-ending injury to Meneses, it’s probable that the ‘Niners may return to the traditional lineup of playing two guards. Last season Wynn deployed an unconventional three-guard system to compensate for some of the team’s injuries. Sanchez and Dooley are expected to maintain their starting roles at the guard spots.
Senior Mary Ochiltree is a versatile wing who can play both shooting guard and small forward, and while she can be brought off the bench to provide an offensive spark, Wynn could also use her as a guard-forward hybrid in the starting lineup.
Last season’s leading scorer Tipesa Moorer’s graduation has virtually left the starting forward spots up for grabs. Hudson, categorized as a forward throughout last season, is expected to play as more of a traditional center this year, so Wilson, Clark and Valles will compete for the remaining one or two starting forward spots.
High-octane offense and team defense
Wynn has been stressing two major tactical elements since the start of official practice last month – defending collectively and running a fast-paced offense predicated on fluid ball movement. The ‘Niners are dedicating ample time in practice to master defensive schemes such as full-court pressure and double-teaming in the high post to deny the passing lanes of their opponents.
“We want to get after it defensively,” Wynn said. “We want to crowd opponents on defense. We’ll be playing a little bit of zone, little bit of man [to man]. We want to play a little bit of everything.”
By getting stops defensively, the ‘Niners are hoping that their offense will feed off the energy on the other end. Wynn emphasized the importance of ball movement, spacing and entry passes into the paint throughout the practices held over the past few weeks.
“We want to run up and down the court and move the ball,” Wynn said. “That’ll be the key to our offense. As much as we want to get after it defensively, we want to have the same energy offensively.”
Maximizing home court advantage
The ‘Niners are taking a different path from the previous year to start this season. Last season, they played only five of their 13 nonconference games were at home. This season, The Beach will play eight of its first 12 games at the Walter Pyramid prior to beginning Big West conference play.
The 49ers will open their season with home games against Sacramento State and Iona on Friday and Sunday. They will then play their first road game at Loyola Marymount next week. Following that contest, the ‘Niners will return home to face Washington before going on the road to play Utah Valley and No. 4 Stanford.
In December, LBSU will play Arizona, Santa Clara and San Diego before hosting the third annual Beach Classic.
The ‘Niners will then host Columbia before starting conference action on Jan. 3 against Cal Poly.
With all but one home game scheduled to be played in succession of at least two throughout the season, The Beach will look to maintain their excellent home form after finishing last season with an impressive 10-3 overall home record.
“Things are coming along well,” Wynn said. “We’ve had great practices. We’re looking forward to the season.”
The 49ers’ season opener is set to tip off at 7 p.m. on Friday at the Walter Pyramid.