After losing four straight road games to start Big West Conference play, the Long Beach State women’s basketball team finally notched a pair of road wins at Cal State Fullerton and UC Riverside.
LBSU (14-11, 7-6 Big West) started its three-game road swing on the right foot by prevailing with a hard-fought 58-56 win over CSUF (7-17, 3-9 Big West) on Thursday at Titan Gym.
Despite the narrow final score, the 49ers dominated on both ends of the floor, shooting 47.2 percent from the field and connecting at 60 percent behind the 3-point line. The Titans shot just 32 percent.
Sophomore point guard Alex Sanchez scored a game-high 13 points on a 5-of-6 shooting to lead the ‘Niners, while classmate Ella Clark added 10 points.
The Beach built a comfortable 27-15 lead at the end of the first half after holding the Titans to just 18.5 percent shooting.
Less than a minute into the second half, Clark’s midrange jumper gave LBSU a convincing 29-15 lead.
CSUF cut the 49ers’ lead to 46-38 with a jump shot from sophomore forward Natalie Williams at the 9:25 mark.
Although a pair of free throws by Lauren Spargo helped the ‘Niners extend their lead to nine at the 4:50 mark, the Titans made a 11-3 run capped by an Alex Thomas 3-pointer to close the gap to just one point with 27 seconds remaining.
On the ensuing possession, sophomore guard Chantel Dooley turned the ball over and gave the Titans a chance to take a shot for the win. However, Chante Miles failed to create a shot with three seconds remaining and gave possession back to The Beach.
The Titans then quickly fouled Dooley, and the sophomore guard converted one of her two free throws to give LBSU its first road win in the Big West.
Two days after edging CSUF, the 49ers put in a dominant performance en route to an impressive 80-66 win over UC Riverside (11-12, 4-8 Big West) at the SRC Arena.
The ‘Niners stayed hot offensively after shooting a season-high 51.9 percent from the field. They also shot 50 percent from beyond the arc on 9-of-18 shooting.
The Beach also reached the 80-point plateau for the first time since it toppled UC Irvine 80-79 on Jan. 22, 2011.
Four players scored in double digits in LBSU’s offensive outburst. Clark led the way with 16 points and sophomore center Devin Hudson had 14 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
Sanchez pitched in 13 points and a career-high nine assists, and junior Jade Wilson scored a season-high 11 points.
The 49ers allowed the Highlanders to take their first lead of the game 22-20 at the 8:36 mark.
However, the ‘Niners regained the lead with senior wing Marie Ochiltree’s back-to-back 3-pointers and eventually led 43-35 at halftime.
Although UCR got within eight points with 12:43 to go, the 49ers went on a 15-4 run over the remaining minutes to get their second road victory in conference play.
LBSU will play the final game of its three-game road swing at UC Irvine on Thursday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.