From LBSU reports
It was a long time coming, but the Long Beach State women’s basketball team put together a strong second-half effort as they ran away with a 54-51 comeback victory over Cal State Fullerton Thursday evening at Titan Gym.
The Beach took its first lead of the game at 45-43 on an Ashley Bookman layup with just under six minutes to play. The 49ers went up by as many as six thanks to a clutch 3-pointer by junior Ally Wade, but they found themselves leading by just one (52-51) with 15 seconds on the clock. Wade then sank a pair of free throws to secure the win for LBSU.
Long Beach State (4-15, 1-6 BWC), which picked up its first Big West Conference victory and snapped an eight-game losing streak, shot 43.4 percent from the field, while holding CSF to just 26.2 percent. The Beach also owned a 48-37 advantage on the boards.
Senior Lynea Williams led all scorers with 13 points, while junior Courtney Jacob notched her second double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Senior Kaiti O’Brien also finished the evening in double figures with 10 points.
Cal State Fullerton (6-12, 3-4 BWC) jumped out to a 14-0 lead before O’Brien got The Beach on the board with a layup at the 16:08 mark. The 49ers started to find their rhythm late in the first half as they used a 9-2 spurt, capped by a Williams jumper, to cut the deficit to four (24-20) with 3:45 to play, but the Titans outscored LBSU by an 8-4 margin down the stretch to take a 32-24 advantage into the break.
After getting off to a slow start in the second half, Long Beach State proceeded to go on a 13-2 run to close the gap to 41-39 with 8:59 remaining. The 49ers were able to stay close as they tied it up at 43-43 before taking their first lead at the 5:39 mark.
Jasmine Scott led the Titans with 11 points, while Toni Thomas added 10 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
Long Beach State will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 31, when it returns to the Walter Pyramid after two weeks on the road as the 49ers entertain UC Irvine in a 5 p.m. Big West Conference match-up.