The ups and downs for the Long Beach State women’s basketball team have started, and Sunday was a pretty big up. The 49ers used a big second half to run away with a 79-56 victory against Texas-Pan American at the South Padre Island Convention Center Sunday afternoon.
The 49ers (2-2) shot an impressive 56.3 percent from the field in the second half and 51.7 percent overall, while holding the Lady Broncs to 35.7 percent.
Senior Ally Wade led the way with 22 points, 15 of which came in the second period. Wade was 7-for-10 from the field and 4-of-7 from 3-point range. Senior Lauren Sims added 14 points, while senior Brett Timmons and junior Melanie Lisnock chipped in 13 and 12, respectively.
Senior Karina Figueroa had a game-high nine assists and junior Ashley Bookman pulled down a team-best eight rebounds.
UTPA jumped out to an early 5-1 lead, but the 49ers proceeded to go on a 7-0 run, capped by a Wade 3-pointer to go up 8-5 at the 14:50 mark. The Lady Broncs then responded with nine unanswered points of their own to take a 14-8 advantage.
The Beach eventually evened the score at 14-14 on a free throw by Timmons with 10:05 to play. The two teams went back and forth from there with five lead changes over a two and a half minute span. The 49ers were able to pull ahead down the stretch, however, as a 3-pointer by Wade with 41 seconds on the clock put LBSU up 32-26 at the break.
Texas-Pan American (0-3) started off the second half on a 13-3 run to go up 38-37, but that lead was short-lived as The Beach came storming back to take an 11-point advantage after a Timmons jumper at the 13:03 mark. The 49ers never looked back from there, going up by as many as 24 en route to a 79-56 win.
Rachel Hester led UTPA with 14 points, while Bianca Torre added 13.
Long Beach State returns to action this weekend as it heads to Coral Gables, Fla., for the University of Miami Thanksgiving Tournament (Nov. 27-28). The 49ers open action against the host Hurricanes on Friday, starting at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, and will close out the tournament on Saturday when it takes on either Massachusetts or Rice.
Reports From LBSU