Big West Conference play begins Thursday night against Cal Poly at the Walter Pyramid as the Long Beach State women’s basketball team looks to prove the coaches’ wrong, who voted them to finish eighth out of nine teams.
The Beach (5-8) finished their non-conference schedule Dec. 21 when they lost 57-40 to USC. Part of that stretch of schedule featured tough games against No. 2 Oregon and No. 8 UCLA.
The Beach enjoyed a nice tune-up after a 13-day lay-off, beating Bethesda University (0-23) in an exhibition game 90-43. Senior forward Cydnee Kinslow led all scorers with 22 points, while every player scored at least once for the Beach.
Junior guard Shanaijah Davison has led the team in scoring off the bench with 13.3 points per game, despite shooting only 33.7% from the field. Sophomore guard Justina King has also contributed a solid 12.9 points per game, good for second on the team.
Sitting at 5-8, Long Beach enters Big West play with the third best record in its respective non-conference schedule, trailing only Fullerton (8-5) and Hawaii (6-7).
Despite their losing record, the Beach goes into conference play with the second-best defense in the Big West, surrendering only 65 points per game. They also rank third in offense at 58.8 points per game.
Cal Poly (3-8) goes into the matchup having snapped a three-game losing streak, beating Holy Names University (0-11) 100-35. The Mustangs set a season-high in points scored and season-low in points allowed.
Redshirt junior forward Sierra Campisano has led the team so far, averaging 17 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. Freshman point guard Abbey Ellis is second on the team with 15.2 points per game while leading the team with 39 total assists.
Long Beach State will host Cal Poly Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid.