Photos by John Fajardo
The Long Beach State women’s basketball team officially kicked off the Jody Wynn era with a 76-68 victory over three-time defending Southwestern Athletic Conference champion Prairie View A&M in both teams’ season opener Friday evening at the Walter Pyramid.
Not only was it the first career win for 49er head coach Jody Wynn, but it was also LBSU’s first season-opening victory since the 2004-05 campaign when The Beach defeated Montana.
Long Beach State shot an impressive 51.0 percent from the field, while holding the Panthers to just 39.4 percent.
Playing in her first game since March 12, 2008, senior Karina Figueroa led the 49ers with a double-double, netting 23 points and dishing out a career-high tying 10 assists.
Figueroa now has 1,007 career points, making her the program’s 21st 1,000-point scorer.
Senior Lauren Sims added 20 points as she went 6-for-9 from beyond the arc, tying the school’s second-best mark for 3-pointers made in a game. Classmate Whitney Fields also finished in double figures with 12 points, while junior Ashley Bookman grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
The first half was a game of runs as there were eight lead changes and three tie scores. Prairie View A&M got on the board first, but the 49ers went on to score nine unanswered points to go up 9-2 at the 16:25 mark. The Panthers then responded with a 14-0 run of their own to take their largest lead of the game at 16-9 with 13:02 to play.
Sims eventually ended a nearly five-minute scoring drought for LBSU by draining a 3-pointer with 11:29 on the clock. That kicked off an 11-0 49er run which put The Beach up 20-16 at the 8:51 mark. The two teams then went back and forth with PVAMU holding on down the stretch to take a narrow 34-32 lead into the break.
The 49ers took control in the second half as Sims opened the action with back-to-back 3-pointers, putting The Beach on top, 38-34. LBSU stayed in command and took a 12-point lead (48-36) on a Fields layup with 14:31 to play.
The Panthers then started to chip away, closing the gap to 61-57 on consecutive jumpers from Dominique Smith. Prairie View A&M eventually tied the game at 66-66 with just under four and a half minutes to go, but Figueroa responded by sinking six straight free throws to put The Beach back up, 72-66. Figueroa then sealed the victory as she completed a three-point play with 56 seconds on the clock.
Gaati Werema led the Panthers with 25 points and 12 rebounds, while Candice Thomas chipped in 18 points.
Long Beach State returns to action on Monday, Nov. 16 when it entertains Loyola Marymount at the Walter Pyramid. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. (PST).
Report by LBSU