FINAL: Long Beach 55, Riverside 46 
Lot to like and dislike about this game for the 49ers–will put up a full article with quotes from coach Wynn and players later tonight, so come back to see what the team (and its coach) think of their opening conference win.

52-44 Long Beach, 1:32
Long Beach is on an 16-0 run thanks to Fig’s one-handed shot in the lane that practically puts this one away. What a gutty performance from Fig, and the whole team–to come out that hot, then go that cold in the second, but still use the reserves to come back from down six is impressive, and the type of performance they’ll need week in and out if they want to go “From worst to first” in the conference, as they’ve been saying all season.

50-44 Long Beach, 2:26
Free throws make it a six-point game. 49ers pressing very well and drawing fouls well–the pep in their step from weathering the rough stretch has them even more fired up right now. They just need to close it out–all the momentum is on their side right now.

46-44 Long Beach, 3:39
To sum up her afternoon, Fig had a layup hang on the rim, with a foul called, before finally rolling in, giving her team the lead and sending a charge through the crowd.  We’ve got a timeout, then number 20 will try and give her team a three-point lead.

44-44 4:35
Gonna come down to the wire, thanks to three’s by Fig and Wade. Lot of bounce in the 49ers’ step right now.

40-38 RIverside, 7:22
This team is so strange–12 minutes of nothing, then quick inside baskets by Barbee and Figueroa, and an energized press defense forces a five-second out of bounds violation by Riverside to get the ball back. Go figure!  This, though, is how they usually close games–against top-tier talent like they faced in the nonconference schedule, it wasn’t enough to come back.  In the Big West?  I guess we’ll find out over the next seven minutes.

40-34 Riverside, 8:14
Okay, an 18-3 run–just one field goal in the second half for Long Beach. On offense, it’s been three options: a turnover, everyone passing with no idea who should shoot, or someone taking a quick, bad shot.

38-33 Riverside, 9:59
Make that a 16-2 run.  Figueroa just hit the floor hard after a missed layup and immediately grabbed her right knee, causing half the crowd to literally hold their breath.  She got up and is moving around fine.

36-33 Riverside, 11:06
It took just under nine minutes, but Riverside finally ate through the halftime margin–the 49ers have a grand total of two points in nine minutes, and have committed three shot clock violations.  Riverside’s in the midst of a 14-2 run.

33-33, 12:28
The normally reliable Figueroa is really struggling; 1-7 shooting, just missed two free throws, and has five turnovers.  As I was typing this, she tried to get the ball downcourt on an outlet and chucked it out of bounds.  They need her to rebound if they want the win.

33-31 Long Beach, 13:30
Barbee breaks the tie with the 49ers’ first points of the second frame.
 
31-29 Long Beach, 14:32
Four missed shots in the key for the 49ers, who are still looking for their first score in the second half.

31-28 Long Beach, 16:27
49ers still haven’t scored, and nix my halftime statement–they now have 2 shot clock violations. Struggling to get any kind of look right now. Couldn’t look more disjointed on the offensive side.

31-26 Long Beach, 18:59
49ers commit their 13th turnover 13 seconds into the half, on a traveling violation. First run of the half belongs to the Highlanders as they get two quick ones.

HALFTIME: Long Beach 31, Riverside 22
Halftime stats–prepare to be bug-eyed.  Long Beach is shooting 48% (over 60 from the arc), and is 6-8 from the charity stripe.  They have also committed 12 turnovers, in every way you could imagine save shot clock violations.  Riverside, on the other hand, is 8-33 (24%) and a dreadful 1-12 from the arc. Rheya Neabors is “leading” Riverside with 0-7 shooting. Lot of hanging heads for the Highlanders, lot of confidence from the 49ers coming off the court–will be interesting to see who gets the first run of the second half.

31-21 Long Beach, 1:00
Gritty last quarter of the half as both teams get into the double-bonus.  Long Beach takes a few charges and gets their rebounding together–that press continues to fluster Riverside.  

23-16 Long Beach, 4:45
You knew Riverside was going to get hot (or at least lukewarm) eventually–Long Beach has to get some points on offense to help cool them off again.  Intensity has faded in the set defense, as they failed to box out and didn’t rotate on the last two possessions.

23-8 Long Beach, 7:23
Full-court press is really flustering Riverside.  Can’t say it enough–watching this team, it’s hard to believe it’s the same personnel as last season.  No way they had the stamina to run press and maintain the intensity last year.  Timeout on the floor at 7:02, LB is shooting 75% with 9-12 shooting (and 5-6 from the arc); Riverside is 4-22 and 0-7.  If the 49ers didn’t have 9 turnovers, the lead would be even larger–still, a 15 point margin after 13 minutes of play has the crowd here feeling good.

Same score 9:00
As the 49ers commit their 8th turnover, it’s worth noting that Riverside’s terrible shooting (3-20) is partially because of good defense, and also partially because it’s just terrible shooting.

18-6 Long Beach, 11:11
49ers absolutely outhustling Riverside on both ends right now.  The team is 4-5 from three-point after LaTorya Barbee hit a three.  The grueling nonconference schedule seems to have paid off so far–49ers not impressed by Riverside’s height or speed, and after playing USC, why would they be?  Let’s see if they can keep this up for another 30 minutes. Regardless, it’s good to see a sprint of effort at the beginning of the game, instead of the end.
 
13-6 Long Beach, 12:47
Make that 3-4 for Sims!  Figueroa knows it–she was looking at her the whole way.  They’ll feed her till she misses (made her last three).  Timeout Riverside.

10-6 Long Beach, 13:46
 Maintained a good level of intensity–Figueroa is back on the floor after a quick sit.  RIverside hasn’t been able to get anything inside yet, which is a good sign.  Wade is really holding her own in there, and Sims has a hot hand right now, 2-3 from the arc.

5-0 Long Beach, 17:49
Well, definitely the start they wanted, so far–buckets by Sims and Figueroa, good defense on the other end.

PREGAME
Biggest key to this game is getting off to a fast start–this team has dug themselves a lot of holes by coming out a little sluggish, and forcing themselves to spend the next thirty minutes trying to come back from down by 15.  If they can keep it even for the first ten minutes, or even open a small lead, they’ll be in good shape–they’ve proven time and again that they can run with anyone (including their Pac-10 competition) in the closing minutes of a game, thanks largely to their intense conditioning program.