The 49er women hosted the UCSB Gauchos in their conference opener Thursday night, and the lbpost.com was there to bring you video evidence.  Relive the action if you didn’t catch them live.

Only 12 games in and this team has already gone through its share of tribulations.  Inexperienced youth coupled with a tough early season schedule have caused the 49ers to dig themselves into a deep hole so far.  Injuries to both Tyresha Calhoun and Karina Figueroa – the focal points of the offense – have been crippling, and though this team has the ability to score in bundles, they have trouble when facing a lockdown defense.

But the UCSB game showed flashes of potential, as the 49ers clawed their way back into a game that could have easily been thrown away after falling behind early.  Lots of positives can be taken from Thursday night’s performance.

Also in LBSU vs. UCSB news, the 49er men fell in Santa Barbara to the Gauchos, in yet another “close-but-no-cigar” finish.  Donovan Morris continued his high-octane offense with 19 points, and Long Beach had a shot late in the 2nd half before trailing away and falling to the Gauchos, 79-64.

There’s no disputing that 07-08 has gotten off to a rocky start for both basketball teams.  But there is room for optimism now that the conference schedule is starting up.  Both teams faced tough road competition outside of the conference early in the season, and are starting to figure out what works and what doesn’t.  Being at home, along with playing more reasonable conference competition, the 49ers will now show what they’re really made of.  We will be seeing a positive difference in play once the Big West schedule starts to pick up.