Ewodo's Late Three-Point Play Lifts Highlanders To, 58-57, Victory Over LBSU

Saturday, February 15

Riverside, Calif.

5:00 P.M.

UC Riverside

8-16,4-6Big West

Long Beach State

11-13,6-5Big West

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Long Beach St.	4	15	22	16	57
UC Riverside	16	14	14	14	58

Photo by: Carlos Puma

Ewodo's Late Three-Point Play Lifts Highlanders To, 58-57, Victory Over LBSU

2/15/2020 9:59:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Presented by Altura Credit Union

Riverside, Calif-In their first meeting of the season it took double overtime for UC Riverside and Long Beach State to determine a winner. Saturday's match-up was as close as a game can be in regulation, this time with the Highlanders prevailing, 58-57, thanks to a game-winning three-point play by Marina Ewodo with six seconds to play.

UC Riverside (8-16, 4-6) came out the gate hot, shooting 50% from the field (6-12) in the opening frame en route to creating a 16-4 advantage. The second quarter saw the clubs play at close range as Long Beach State (11-13, 6-5) began to apply a full-court press which caused the Highlanders to commit seven miscues in the period. Despite the turnovers, the shooting touch remained for UCR, who got four clutch points from Daphne Gnago in the closing minutes of the half, punctuated by a clutch jumper from the free-throw line at the buzzer.

Jannon Otto opened the scoring in the second half with a jumper on the break setup by Keilanei Cooper to make it 32-19. Otto had a team-high 18 points, including four connections from long distance on six attempts. The Beach then responded by outscoring the Highlanders,18-7, to make it a two-point game, 39-37 with two minutes remaining in the third. The teams played the rest of the quarter at close range on their way to the fourth quarter with the score 44-41, UCR.

"We knew this would be a fight and we prepared the team for one, so I wasn't surprised at all when they came back. That's a good team we beat tonight."

Skyler Lewis led a 4-0 UC Riverside spurt to begin the fourth, she had a putback and mid-range jumper to put the blue and gold ahead, 48-41. The Beach then responded with a three from the right wing that began a 7-0 run that tied the game at 48.

Otto, who lives in the mid-range, knocked a three from the right wing off a feed from Lewis with the shot clock running down. LBSU answered with a three of their own. With the score 55 apiece and 1:14 remaining, the Highlanders committed turnovers on back-to-back possessions. After the first one, the Beach took the lead on a pair of Justina King free-throw and Coach Bell called for time. Out of the stoppage, the Highlanders turned it over for the second time in as many possessions. They sent LBSU to the line with 20 seconds to go, and the Beach missed on both attempts. Coming out the timeout, Lauryn Pointer found Otto along the baseline, Otto took a dribble and fired. Her shot missed, but landed into the hands of Ewodo, who quickly put the ball back up and into the basket while absorbing the harm from being fouled. She would convert the go-ahead free-throw and lock-in defensively on the Beach's final possession. LBSU did get the ball in King's hands but she was unable to get a clean look and her shot missed everything as time expired. Lewis scored eight of her 13 points in the fourth and matched the entire LBSU output on the boards with three rebounds in the period.

The Highlanders overcame a season-high 29 turnovers on Saturday, when they also outrebounded the visitors 42-29 to offset the possessions forfeited by miscues. Miraculously, the Highlanders had eight turnovers in the fourth period compared to zero for Long Beach State in the win, however, they also outrebounded them 15-3 in the final ten minutes of play. "Obviously, I am not happy about the 29 turnovers we had, but I am proud of how we found a way to win tonight. Defense and rebounding helped us hang on." said Coach Bell.

Looking Forward

The Highlanders host Cal Poly at home on Thursday, February 20th at 5pm in the first game of an ESPN UCR Basketball double-header with the Men's team slated for an 8pm tip-off versus Hawai'i.