UC Riverside
Long Beach State
Women's Basketball Defeats The Beach 57-41
1/24/2009 5:23:34 PM | Women's Basketball
(Riverside, CA) – The UC Riverside Women's Basketball Team defeated Long Beach State (3-15, 0-6) 57-41 in Big West Conference action on Saturday evening at the Student Recreation Center in Riverside. The Highlanders improve to 9-9 on the year and 5-1 in conference play.
The Highlanders found themselves down 8-5 at the 14:35 mark, but a three pointer by Kemie Nkele (San Diego, CA) 30 seconds later tied the game up, and another trey by the senior less than a minute later gave the Highlanders their first lead of the game, 11-8.
UC Riverside would never look back as they opened up a nine point lead on two separate occasions in the first half as they went into the locker room with a 27-20 advantage.
In the second, UCR pushed the lead out to 18 on multiple occasions as they outscored the 49ers by nine points to claim the 57-41 victory.
Nkele led the Highlanders with a game-high 21 points on 7-of-17 from the floor including 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. Seyram Gbewonyo (Sylmar, CA) added nine points and a game-high five assists, while Ronéy Friend (Los Angeles, CA) had eight points. Jessie Schmuckal (Chula Vista, CA) grabbed a career-high seven rebounds, while Tainoisouti Lott (Moreno Valley) also pulled down seven boards, all offensive.
The Highlanders return to action on Thursday, Jan. 29 as they take on UC Irvine in Big West Conference action at 5:30 pm at the Student Recreation Center in Riverside. Live game coverage is available online at www.gohighlanders.com.
Game Notes
This win moves UC Riverside to .500 for only the second time all year. The last time the Highlanders were .500 or better was on Nov. 28 after they defeated North Dakota to move to 2-2.
UCR has won the last four straight games and six of the last seven.
The Highlanders held the 49ers to 41 points and 0-10 from three-point land, tying the record for lowest points and three-point percentage for an opponent this year.
