When you’re trying to establish a new identity for a flagging program, road nonconference wins—over any opponent—are nice to have in your pocket. So regardless of the fact that this one for the 49ers came in a victory over winless Rice, the 68-64 result is sure to have the 49ers feeling good on their way home from the University of Miami’s Thanksgiving Tournament Saturday afternoon at the BankUnited Center.
Four 49ers reached double figures in scoring, led by senior Karina Figueroa, who had 17 points to go along with five assists and four rebounds. Figueroa went 11-for-13 from the charity stripe and sank six free throws down the stretch to give The Beach the victory; her performance over the course of the weekend earned her a spot on the all-tournament team, as she averaged 20 points, 7.5 assists, and 6.5 rebounds per-game.
Senior Ally Wade also finished with 12 points, while juniors Melanie Lisnock and LaTorya Barbee netted 11 and 10, respectively. Junior Ashley Bookman led LBSU on the boards with eight rebounds. Conspicuously absent from the scoring leaders is Lauren Sims, who was hot in the loss to Miami but took just one shot in 23 minutes against Rice.
Rice (0-6) jumped out to a 19-5 advantage, before senior Brett Timmons scored five unanswered points, including her first career 3-pointer, to bring Long Beach State back within nine.
LBSU continued to chip away, going on a 12-2 run, capped by a pair of free throws by senior Lindsey Beckner, to take its first lead of the game at 25-23 with 4:19 to play. The Owls came back, however, outscoring The Beach, 6-3, over the final four minutes to go up 29-28 at the break.
The two teams went back and forth early in the second half with seven lead changes over a three-minute span. Rice eventually pulled ahead midway through the period, going up 46-41 on a Jackie Stanley jumper with 12:17 remaining.
The Owls held on to their lead until the two-minute mark when Figueroa completed a 3-point play to cap an 8-0 run that put The Beach on top, 62-61. Once again, Rice and LBSU traded baskets until Figueroa sank six free throws down the stretch to secure the 68-64 win.
The 49ers shot 36.5 percent from the field, while the Owls made 37.5 percent of their shots. Stanley led Rice with 24 points and 11 rebounds and Morgan Mayse chipped in 17 points.
Long Beach State (3-3) returns to the friendly confines of the Walter Pyramid on Thursday, Dec. 3, when it takes on Pac-10 foe USC at 7 p.m. (PST).
From LBSU reports