After a sluggish offensive first quarter where both teams shot a combined 5-for-28 from the field, UC Davis 6-1, 5-0 in conference, led 33-19 at halftime and went on to win 67-52 handing the Long Beach State women’s basketball team their first conference loss of the season Friday night.
The Aggies’ junior forward Kayla Konrad hit a three-pointer that sparked an 11-0 run to end the first half, pushing Davis past the Beach early on.
Entering the game tied atop of the Big West Conference standings, CSULB, 11-2, 10-1 in conference, had their worst shooting performance of the season from behind the arch making only three of their 22 attempts (14%).
Aggies’ senior forward Cierra Hall led the way with 17 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals shooting 5-for-9 from the field and making all three of her attempts from three-point land.
Junior guard Ma’Qhi Berry was the one bright spot for the Beach as she led all scorers in the game with 18 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals shooting 7-for-13 from the field.
Berry went on a 7-2 run on her own with two layups, a steal and a three-pointer to open the second quarter and gave the Beach a 13-11 lead, their last of the game.
The junior guard followed that with another 7-2 run on her own topped by an AND-1 conversion that cut the deficit to 35-26 for the Beach with 5:58 remaining in the third quarter.
CSULB junior guard Kianna Hamilton-Fisher added 14 points, 4 rebounds and two steals.
Unfortunately for the Beach, leading-scorer Justina King at 15 ppg was held to her lowest scoring total of the season at two points and 1-for-10 shooting from the field.
Reigning Big West Conference player-of-the-week Jasmine Hardy’s four-game double digit scoring streak came to an end as she finished the game with seven points and 11 rebounds. Hardy’s two-game double-double streak also came to an end.
Entering the game the only blemishes on the records for both UC Davis and the Beach were losses to Pac-12 opponents in Oregon and USC respectively.
Both teams are back at it Saturday, Feb. 13, at Walter Pyramid as the Beach has an opportunity to tie the Aggies atop the conference standings again.