LBSU women’s basketball huddles together during a 75-45 blowout loss on the road to UC San Diego on Saturday, Dec. 6. Sean Bowen | Long Beach Current
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Long Beach State women’s basketball remains winless on the season, after 75-45 to UC San Diego on the road on Saturday, Dec. 6.
LBSU sophomore forward Judit Oliva Fernandez hit a three in the first shot of the game, giving The Beach their only lead of the contest before the Tritons ended the opening quarter on a 20-3 run.
Trailing 39-16 at the half, The Beach (0-8) struggled early to match the Tritons (5-4) offensively. LBSU shot 27% from the field compared to UCSD’s 56%.
“From the jump, we were supposed to have some different movements,” LBSU head coach Amy Wright said. “We didn’t buy into it during the game.”
Triton redshirt junior Rosa Smith led all scorers with 27 points while also racking up five assists. UCSD junior forward Erin Condron also chipped in with 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the victory.
“[Condron’s] an impact player,” Wright said. “We wanted to try and take her out.”
The Beach kept the scoring margin relatively close in the second half, being outscored by just seven, but could not cut away at their massive deficit.
LBSU freshman guard Brynna Pukis led The Beach with 12 points, while Fernandez joined her in double figures with 11.
However, LBSU could not move the ball whatsoever without giving it away, as Fernandez accrued six turnovers while sophomore guard and The Beach’s leading scorer JaQuoia Jones-Brown had a team-high eight giveaways.
“Our defense is good, not great, but we are losing our identity on the offensive end,” Wright said.
In search of the first win of the season, LBSU’s next matchup is at home on Thursday, Dec. 11, against Portland University.