LONG BEACH, Calif. – The UC Riverside Women's Basketball team was knocked off, 74-44, in their 2020-21 Big West Conference opener at Long Beach State. 

Plagued by costly turnovers and cold shooting early on, the Highlanders allowed Long Beach to create a 17-point first half margin (34-17) that proved to be too much to overcome for UCR.  
 
UCR shot just 32.7% from the field and 16.7% from the three-point for the game, while allowing 25 LBSU points on 22 turnovers. 
 
"We have to do a better job of taking care of the ball," said UCR head coach, Nicole Powell. "In this league, teams are just too good and you cannot afford to give them extra possessions." 
 
Midway through the third period, the Highlanders went on a 7-2 spurt that featured buckets by Keilanei Cooper and Jordan Webster which cut the deficit to 13, 39-26. But, the Beach responded with an 11-2 run of their own to make it 50-28 and put the game out of reach. 

Cooper led the young squad with a team-high 19 points and was joined by in double figures by Webster, who had 11. Freshman Kari Kyrkjebo pulled down a team-high seven boards in 24 minutes of play. 

"There were some bright spots offensively that we can build on for tomorrow's game," Powell added. "I like the fact that we get a chance to put our adjustments in place right away." 
 
The Sunday, December 27 matchup at the Walter Pyramid was the first in the new back-to-back series format. The Highlanders look to bounce back as they wrap up the series against the Beach on Monday, December 28 at 4:00 p.m.