The Beach was outlasted by the UC Irvine Anteaters 86-76 on March 2 at the Walter Pyramid. Despite the loss, LBSU qualified for the Big West tournament after Cal Poly defeated Cal State Bakersfield.
A fourth-quarter comeback by LBSU was overshadowed by UCI outscoring Long Beach State 16-6 in overtime.
“You know, I’m proud of our young women,” head coach Amy Wright said. “We had so much adversity. We had foul trouble, layup trouble, we had trouble boxing out, but we continue to fight.”
Junior guard Sydney Woodley led The Beach in scoring with 21 points, tying her career high. Woodley shot 7-13 from the field, including going 2-2 from three-point range.
“She’s just been rolling,” Wright said. “We continue to encourage her to be aggressive on defense. That usually gets her going in terms of getting easy buckets. If she’s doing well defensively, she’s going to perform on the offensive end.”
Redshirt junior guard Casey Valenti Paea had her first double-digit assist game in her career against the Anteaters with 11 assists.
“She’s really been getting her teammates involved in practice,” Wright said. “She makes great reads and has a natural point guard instinct, even if it isn’t her natural position.”
Graduate student and Long Beach State guard Cheyenne Givens was celebrated with senior night festivities before the game and finished the game with 11 points, four assists and three rebounds.
“She’s been a huge asset coming to us for one year,” Wright said. “We’re fortunate to have her for a year, and you can tell she’s an offensive threat when she comes in. I think she should be Sixth Player of the Year for the Big West.”
Cal State Long Beach plays its next game at UC Santa Barbara on March 7 at 7 p.m.