LONG BEACH, Calif. ? The CSUB women's basketball team used a big rally to take command before holding off a late Long Beach State rally to defeat the 49ers 65?62 Saturday night at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach.

CSUB (10?13 overall) trailed by seven early in the second half before ripping off a 15?0 run to take the lead for good. The Roadrunners led by as many as 14 points before Long Beach (5?18) went on a 10?0 run of its own, closing to within 61?59 with 57 seconds remaining. Krista Arase finally sealed the deal for the Roadrunners by nailing four free throws in the closing seconds.

CSUB won despite shooting just 32 percent from the floor, 14 percent from three?point range and passing for a school?record low two assists. The key was a stifling Roadrunner defense that forced 27 turnovers. Four different 'Runners collected three steals apiece.

Junior guard Kelley Tarver came back from an injury suffered Wednesday night at UC Santa Barbara to score a game?high 17 points. Christine Kepenekian, who scored eight consecutive points in Bakersfield's 15?0 run, added 16 points.

CSUB returns to the Icardo Center to host its final two home games of the season next week. They play Big West Conference rival Cal State Northridge Thursday and fellow NCAA Division I Independent member UT?Pan American Saturday.

CSU BAKERSFIELD (10-13) -- Tarver 5-19 7-7 17; Kepenekian 6-13 3-3 16; Stribling 4-5 1-1 9; Belt 2-9 3-5 7; Arase 0-4 6-6 6; Leon 1-5 2-2 5; West 2-5 0-1 4; Johnson 0-1 1-2 1; Carter 0-0 0-0 0; Jones 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-61 23-27 65.

LONG BEACH STATE (5-18) -- Barbee 5-11 0-0 11; Sims 4-9 0-0 11; O'Brien 4-10 1-1 9; Jacob 4-8 0-0 8; Musina 3-10 0-0 6; Calhoun 1-4 4-4 6; Figueroa 2-8 0-0 5; Johnson 0-2 4-4 4; Williams 1-1 0-0 2; Beckner 0-1 0-0 0; Timmons 0-1 0-2 0; Wade 0-2 0-0 0; Bookman 0-0 0-0 0; Saucedo 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-67 9-11 62.

Halftime: LBSU 30-25. 3-point goals--CSUB 2-14 (Leon 1-3; Kepenekian 1-4; Belt 0-3; Arase 0-3; Tarver 0-1), LBSU
5-20 (Sims 3-7; Figueroa 1-6; Barbee 1-2; Musina 0-3; Wade 0-2). Fouled out--CSUB-Johnson; Stribling, LBSU-Calhoun. Rebounds--CSUB 39 (Stribling 7), LBSU 48 (Jacob 8). Assists--CSUB 2 (Leon 1; Kepenekian 1), LBSU 12 (Calhoun 4). Total fouls--CSUB 17, LBSU 20. Technical fouls--CSUB-None, LBSU-None. A-663