From reports by LBSU’s Andrea Ohta

They couldn’t have come much closer to their first conference win, but the hard-luck 49ers fell short again in their first overtime game since 2005. Long Beach State women’s basketball (3-14, 0-5 BWC) lost to host Cal State Northridge, 88-84, in a Big West Conference match-up at the still ridiculously-named Matadome.

Junior Whitney Fields led The Beach with 24 points and 10 rebounds, marking her sixth double-double of the season. Junior Lauren Sims added a career-high 22 points, while senior Kaiti O’Brien pulled down a career-best 17 rebounds.

CSUN (4-13, 1-3 BWC) took an 81-76 lead with 3:05 to play in the extra period, but LBSU then scored the next four points, tying the game on a pair of O’Brien free throws. The 49ers eventually took an 84-82 lead after a Sims jumper with 24 seconds on the clock, but Jasmine Erving came back down the court to complete a three-point play, putting the Matadors back up top, 85-84. Northridge went on to sink three of its four free throws in the final 17 seconds to pull out the win.

The Matadors dented the scoreboard first, but it was the 49ers who quickly went on a 15-0 run, capped by a Sims layup at the 15:18 mark. CSUN slowly chipped away and pulled within two at 22-20 with 7:06 to play. LBSU responded, however, outscoring the home team by a 22-7 margin in the final seven minutes, taking a 44-27 lead into the break.

Sims led a hot-shooting 49er team in the first half (54.8 percent) with 17 of her 22 points. Long Beach State held CSUN to just 29.4 percent from the field, while The Beach also owned a 23-17 advantage on the boards.

Northridge then came out on fire in the second half, going on a 25-6 spurt to give the Matadors their first lead (52-50) of the game since the 19:07 mark of the first period. The two teams went back and forth from there before the home team pulled ahead by five at the 2:17 mark. The 49ers quickly came back, however, taking a 72-70 lead with 33 seconds to play, but Tonicia Tademy hit a jumper with 20 seconds on the clock to tie it up at 72-72, sending the game into overtime.

Erving paced the Matadors with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Whitney Ligon added 23 points, while Katrina Thompson chipped in 15 points and 14 boards.

Long Beach State will return to action next Saturday (Jan. 24) as it continues Big West play at UC Riverside. Tip-off is set for 5pm.