Story By LBSU’s Andrea Ohta

Despite four players scoring in double figures, the Long Beach State women’s basketball team (8-19, 4-10) fell to Cal State Fullerton, 70-61, in a Big West Conference match-up Saturday evening at the Walter Pyramid.  Both teams finished the game shooting over 40 percent, but the Titans pulled away late in the game, outscoring the 49ers by 11 in the second half.

Junior Whitney Fields led The Beach with her second straight double-double, and eighth of the season, putting up a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds. Senior Kaiti O’Brien and sophomore LaTorya Barbee had 12 points apiece, while junior Lauren Sims rounded out the quartet with 10 points.

Cal State Fullerton (8-18, 5-10) jumped out to an early 8-2 lead at the 16:47 mark. The 49ers then took a well-used timeout as they scored six unanswered points out of the break to even the count. The two teams went back and forth from there with two more tie scores and three lead changes.

CSF eventually went up by seven with 2:19 to play, but The Beach closed out the half on a 9-0 run, capped by a Sims 3-pointer, giving LBSU a 39-37 advantage at the break.  The 49ers shot 45.5 percent from the field in the first period as Fields led the way with 15 of her 20 points.

The Titans opened the second half on a 9-2 spurt, going up 48-41 on Lauren Chow 3-pointer. LBSU stayed close and would regain the lead three more times before another 3-pointer by Chow put CSF up for good. Fields brought the 49ers within three at the 2:31 mark, but The Beach was unable to complete the comeback as it was held scoreless for the remainder of the game.

Long Beach State returns to action on Thursday, March 5, when it entertains Cal Poly at 7 p.m. The 49ers will then close out the regular season against UC Santa Barbara on Saturday.