LBSU women’s basketball defeated California State University, Fullerton with a score of 65-53 on Thursday in a performance manufactured by the team’s defense.
This game was important for The Beach as it puts them just one game behind UC Irvine who is currently seated in first place in The Big West.
Junior Guard, Kristyna Jeskeova was a major contributor on the defensive side of the ball for The Beach, as she led the game with five steals and 13 rebounds. Two of her steals came early on in the first quarter setting the tone for the LBSU defense.
“We stay hungry and humble, which that’s what we have to continue to do in order to win this,” said Jeskeova.
The Beach totaled 15 assists during the game and three players scored in the double digits. Tori Harris led the way scoring 16, followed by Ma’Qhi Berry and Malia Bambrick who each put up 11 points.
Bambrick would however exit the game in the fourth quarter due to an injury.
“It’s never a good thing when your player goes down … that’s part of the game, it’s things that everyone’s dealing with,” said head coach Jeff Cammon.
There were a total of eight lead changes throughout the four quarters of the game with The Beach leading 37 minutes and the Titans only leading for 01:17.
The majority of The Beach’s points came from the paint scoring 28 points and allowing The Titans to score 26 points from inside their own paint.
The Beach was able to limit The Titans to just 21-54 on its field goal attempts and a silent 4-14 performance from the three-point line. Meanwhile, The Beach shot 26-60 converting 43.3% from the field goal, and never got it going from beyond the arc going 3-16 and making 18.8% of its shots from the three-point line.
“They’re just a great group of young ladies and I think the result is obviously what people look at,” Cammon said. “We try to focus on the process and, you know, all the lessons we learned along the journey and through the process.”
The Beach’s last loss came against UC Irvine who they will face next on the road on Saturday, Feb. 4, before returning to the Walter Pyramid on Saturday, Feb. 11 to take on CSU Bakersfield.