LONG BEACH, Calif. — Five 'Runners reached double figures as CSUB captured a 72–68 victory over Long Beach State on Saturday at the Walter Pyramid. With the win, CSUB improved to 12–9 with its fourth road victory of the season. Long Beach State falls to 7–12 with the loss.
Senior Phynique Allen (San Diego, Calif./Eastern Washington) led the way for the 'Runners, scoring 17 points while dishing off eight assists. Freshman Amber Williams (Fontana, Calif./Etiwanda HS) connected three times from beyond the arc and finished with 15 points. Seniors Katie Williams (Las Vegas/Reedley College) and Kelley Tarver (Valencia HS) added 13 points and 10 points, respectively. Williams secured her team–leading fifth double–double of the year with 11 rebounds. Junior Nikki Leon knocked down all three of her tries from deep and contributed 12 points to the victory in 17 minutes.
The Roadrunner defense forced 21 Long Beach turnovers and held the 49ers to just 35.3 percent (24-of-68) shooting. This marks the 20th time in 21 games this year that CSUB has forced at least 20 opponent miscues. The 'Runners have held a positive turnover margin in every game this year and are ranked third in the nation in that category.
After jumping to an early five point lead in the first half, Long Beach State went on a quick 8–0 run to pull ahead, 10–7 with 13:44 to go. That would be the last time the 49ers would have the lead but not the last time they would threaten the Roadrunners. CSUB pushed its lead to 11 late in the half and took a 10 point lead into the locker room, 34–24. Leon hit all three of her triples in the first half.
The Roadrunners continued to pile on to their advantage early in the second half, building a 20 point lead, 52–32, with 14:45 left to play. LBSU would work the advantage down to 14 points before five unanswered Roadrunner points pushed the lead back to 19, 61–42. Things started to turn for LBSU at the 7:33 mark when Karina Figueroa hit two free throws to bring the score to 63–46. Over the next 5:41, the 49ers went on a 16–3 run, closing the gap to four, 66–62, with 1:52 remaining. Leon would hit her only field goal of the second half to push the lead back out to six. A pair of Figueroa free throws brought the lead back to four, 68–64, with 47 seconds to go. But Katie Williams stepped up to hit three-of-four free throws down the stretch to give CSUB the victory.
CSUB returns home next Saturday, Jan. 30, to take on the Mustangs of Cal Poly at 7 p.m. in the Icardo Center. For ticket information, call (661) 654–BLUE!
CSU BAKERSFIELD 72, LONG BEACH STATE 68
CSU BAKERSFIELD (12-9)
Allen 8-14 0-0 17; A. Williams 6-15 0-0 15; K. Williams 4-9
3-4 13; Leon 4-5 1-4 12; Tarver 4-9 0-1 10; Belt 1-1 0-0 3; Davis 1-3 0-0 2; S.
Carter 0-1 0-0 0; L. Carter 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-58 4-9 72.
LONG BEACH STATE (7-12)
Figueroa 7-18 5-7 22; Beckner 5-7 1-2 11; Moorer 5-12 0-0
10; Sims 3-7 0-0 7; Wade 2-4 1-1 6; Timmons 1-6 3-4 5; Lisnock 1-8 2-2 5;
Porter 0-3 2-2 2; Bookman 0-3 0-2 0. Totals 24-68 14-20 68.
CSU BAKERSFIELD 34 38 72
Long Beach State 24 44 68
3-point goals--CSU BAKERSFIELD 12-27 (A. Williams 3-9; Leon
3-3; K. Williams 2-6; Tarver 2-3; Allen 1-5; Belt 1-1), Long Beach State 6-19
(Figueroa 3-5; Lisnock 1-5; Sims 1-3; Wade 1-2; Porter 0-1; Bookman 0-1; Moorer
0-2). Fouled out--CSU BAKERSFIELD-None, Long Beach State-None. Rebounds--CSU
BAKERSFIELD 33 (K. Williams 11), Long Beach State 49 (Wade 14). Assists--CSU
BAKERSFIELD 15 (Allen 8), Long Beach State 12 (Figueroa 7). Total fouls--CSU
BAKERSFIELD 18, Long Beach State 14. Technical fouls--CSU BAKERSFIELD-None,
Long Beach State-None. A-632
