Photo by John Fajardo, report by LBSU

The Long Beach State women’s basketball team dropped a 77-67 decision to Pacific in front of 992 fans at the Walter Pyramid Saturday evening.

The Beach forced 28 turnovers, but the Tigers shot a blistering 56.0 percent from the field and outrebounded the 49ers, 35-28.

Senior Karina Figueroa led LBSU with 18 points and five assists, while classmate Lauren Sims finished with 17 points. Junior Melanie Lisnock chipped in 12 points and senior Ally Wade grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

Pacific raced out to a 13-2 advantage and went up by as many as 19 at the 6:59 mark. The Beach then used a 15-5 run, capped by a Lisnock 3-pointer with nine seconds on the clock, to cut the deficit to 37-28 at the break.

The Tigers shot 66.7 percent from the field, while holding the 49ers to a 36.7 field goal percentage in the first half.

LBSU (12-16, 8-7 BWC) opened the second period with five unanswered points to pull within four (37-33) at the 18:07 mark. UOP was able to rebuild its lead to double digits, but The Beach went on a 16-4 spurt, capped by a pair of free throws from Wade, to even the score at 56-56 with 6:40 to play.

The two teams traded baskets over the next two minutes before UOP pulled ahead, outscoring Long Beach State 12-4 down the stretch, to come away with the 77-67 victory.

Pacific (5-21, 3-11 BWC) shot an impressive 56.0 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from 3-point range. Jordan Rogers led the Tigers making six threes en route to a game-high 19 points. Emma Head also finished with 18 points and a team-best nine rebounds.

The Beach honored its six seniors (Lindsey Beckner, Sahfiya Brown, Karina Figueroa, Lauren Sims, Brett Timmons and Ally Wade) following their final home game.

The 49ers close out the regular season next Saturday (March 6) when they head to UC Riverside for a 5 p.m. (PST) Big West Conference game.