HONOLULU – On Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center, Long Beach State achieved a 73-69 triumph over Hawaii in overtime, shooting 50.0% from the field. The intense and gritty matchup featured 41 fouls, 15 lead changes, and 10 ties, with significant contributions from Savannah Tucker and JaQuoia Jones-Brown propelling LBSU (5-3, 2-0 Big West) […]
HONOLULU – On Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center, Long Beach State achieved a 73-69 triumph over Hawaii in overtime, shooting 50.0% from the field. The intense and gritty matchup featured 41 fouls, 15 lead changes, and 10 ties, with significant contributions from Savannah Tucker and JaQuoia Jones-Brown propelling LBSU (5-3, 2-0 Big West) over the Rainbow Wahine (5-3, 0-1 Big West).
Tucker led the offense for the Beach with a total of 23 points, marking her sixth career contest scoring 20 or more points. She finished 5-of-11 on field goals, 2-of-3 on three-pointers, and 11-of-12 on free throws in 45 minutes of play. Additionally, she recorded three rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block.
Senior guard Patricia Chung joined Tucker in double-figures, scoring all 12 of her points from beyond the arc with a 4-for-8 performance. Chung also contributed seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals in a strong showing.
Both Jones-Brown and Jada Crawshaw chipped in 10 points for LBSU. Jones-Brown scored all her points in the closing 15 minutes, recording four points in the fourth quarter and six in overtime. She additionally gathered seven rebounds, while Crawshaw added five boards.
Rachel Loobie led the Beach on the boards with 12 rebounds, contributing eight points, one assist, one steal, and one block during the game.
Long Beach State started the game strong from three-point range, making four shots behind the arc in the first ten minutes and shooting 66.7% (4-6) from long range. Back-to-back threes from Chung gave the Beach a 10-6 advantage at 5:51. However, the Bows responded with six consecutive points, flipping a four-point deficit into a two-point lead (12-10) with 3:38 left. Long Beach ended the quarter on a 6-0 run, leading 18-14 heading into the second stanza.
The Rainbow Wahine opened the second quarter with a 5-0 run to take a 26-25 lead with 3:40 remaining in the half. After another three-pointer from Chung at 3:11, Long Beach State regained the advantage at 28-26. The Beach held that two-point lead until the final 40 seconds of the half when Hawaii equalized at 28-all by halftime.
Hawaii began the second half with a quick five-point run, establishing a 33-28 lead over Long Beach. The Bows extended their lead to six on multiple occasions in the third quarter, but the Beach remained competitive, trailing by only two (40-38) at the media timeout with 3:58 remaining. Long Beach State embarked on its longest scoring spree (7-0) to claim a three-point lead (45-42) at the 2:20 mark. The tightly contested game saw several ties before Crawshaw’s layup with 1:01 left provided Long Beach State a 49-47 edge at the end of the third quarter.
Competition between the conference rivals intensified in the fourth quarter. With just 14.1 seconds left in regulation and trailing 61-58, Long Beach State cut the deficit to one (61-60) on a layup by Jones-Brown. Coming through once again, she tied the game with a turnaround jumper just 3.0 seconds on the clock, pushing the match into overtime.
Jones-Brown continued her strong performance, putting the Beach ahead 64-63 with a bucket at 3:25 in overtime. After Hawaii regained the lead (66-64), Tucker drew a foul with 1:55 to go and made both free throws to tie the game (66-66). A three-pointer from Chung at the one-minute mark gave LBSU a one-point lead (69-68), and they maintained the advantage for the rest of the match, with Tucker extending the lead to three (71-68) by sinking two free throws with 24.6 seconds left. Hawaii closed the gap to two points, but Tucker secured the win with another pair of free throws, finalizing the score at 73-69.
Long Beach State now boasts a 33-21 record in overtime games historically. With this victory over Hawaii, the Beach levels its all-time overtime record against the Bows at 2-2. This marks the first instance in program history that LBSU defeated Hawaii in an overtime match while on the road.
Lily Wahinekapu was the top scorer for the Bows, finishing with 20 points, while Ritorya Tamilo just missed a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds, adding six blocks to her performance.
The Beach will return to play at the Walter Pyramid on Saturday, Dec. 14 against No. 1 UCLA. The game is scheduled to tip off at 2 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
