Live game blog: Women's basketball vs. USD 12/6/2010

Updates from court side at the Pyramid

16:09 left in first half
Trapping defense giving USD some trouble bringing the ball up. Brandi Henton hit a nice three from the corner on an offensive rebound. LBSU needs to continue to play defense for the entire shot clock with USD getting some late baskets. Turnovers by the Beach lead to two quick layups. 8-6 USD.

12:24 left in first half.
Courtney Jacob goes coast to coast with a nice layup. LBSU boxing out on the defensive glass well. Post defense and turnovers are costing the Beach giving USD extra looks and easy layups. Coach Wynn sends a line change in. 16-11 USD.

7:30 left in first half
Turnovers continue to cost the Beach possessions. An offensive rebound by Tipesa Moorer and feed to Courtney Jacob for an easy lay up. Jacobs continues to be aggressive and works her way to the line, sinking both her shots. She has 7 early points to lead the Beach. Lyndsay Heard hits a 3 from the top of the key to cut the deficit to 4. 24-20 USD

3:49 left in first half
Amanda Sims working hard on the offensive and defensive glass. LBSU in the bonus with under six to play. The Beach is capitalizing on their chances at the line making 7-9. Ella Clark prevents an easy USD layup with a clean block. Game was tied, now LB down by 2. 26-24 USD.

1:00 left in first half
Jacob filling up the state sheet with a nice assist to Moorer and a three from the top of the key to give the Niners a three point lead. LBSU needs to tighten their interior D. An easy press break by Long Beach gives Clark an uncontested layin. With 1 minute remaining USD takes a timeout. LB now leads 33-30.

End of first half
With 5.6 seconds remaining, USD forward Emily Hatch hits a halfcourt shot as the buzzer rings out, giving USD a 34-33 lead at the half.

------------Second Half------------

15:26 left in second half
Niners are contesting shots, but still falling for USD thus far early in the half. Turnovers for both sides. Ella Clark swats away another shot, but too many easy looks given up by The Beach. Niners outscored 12-2 in the half so far. 46-35 USD.

11:44 left in second half
Conners hits an And-1 for USD as Long Beach struggles to find the bottom of the net in the second half. Janae Coffee banks one home to give the Niners their first bucket of the half. When Long Beach can get USD in their half court sets, the Niners have played solid D, but turnovers and blown assignments have led to easy baskets. 53-38 USD in the lead.

7:55 left in second half
More solid defense from the 49ers, but still aren't converting on the offensive end. Nice feed from Moorer to Jacob on a back cut. USD in the bonus. 58-45 USD leads.

3:14 left in second half
USD doing well to use as much clock as they can, every shot seemingly coming with less than 10 seconds left on the shot clock. Long Beach press continues to give USD fits, an easy run out coming for Henton after a steal. Jacob with another nice drive and the foul but can't complete the three point play. Long Beach playing with high energy but need a run with clock winding down. Coach Wynn calls time. 66-52 USD leads.

End of second half
Long Beach State fighting til the end, but clock is not on their side. Long Beach went cold from the field for most of the second half and couldn't recover falling to USD 68-53.

Hope you guys enjoyed this live blog!

'Tis The Season: Holiday Toy Drive

With the holiday season right around the corner, Long Beach State athletics has partnered with Miller's Children Hospital of Long Beach for a toy drive. Starting at tonight's Women's basketball game against the University of San Diego, any fan who brings a new, unopened toy or five canned food items will receive a game ticket to a home game in the month of January.

If you can't make it out to tonight's game, the toy drive will continue at the December 19 Women's basketball game vs. Florida A&M and December 21 at the Women's basketball game against North Carolina State.

Toys can be dropped off at the marketing booth on the Pyramid concourse during the game.

Have a Happy Holiday season and don't forget to bring a toy as you make your way to the Pyramid tonight.

Athlete of the Week: Greg Plater

With so many teams and athletes competing in Division 1 NCAA basketball, leading the nation in any particular stat is impressive in and of itself, but when that stat is something as important and difficult as total three point shots made, the fact becomes even more remarkable.

Long Beach State's Greg Plater has that distinction, having currently made more three point shots than any other player in the country with 34 through his first 9 games. Plater poured in 11 three balls this past week on his way to setting a new career high in points with 22 against BYU-Hawaii last Thursday, and then chipping in 21 big points to lead LBSU in a come from behind victory against the previously unbeaten Boise State Broncos this past Sunday.

His outstanding outside shooting, and career nights made the senior from Salem, Oregon an easy choice for this week's Long Beach State Athlete of the Week. Check out this promotional video Greg shot with Coach Monson in the Long Beach State athletics offices. Coach Monson learns it takes a lot of work on and off the court for Plater to be the three point marksman that he is.

Men's Vollyball: National Championship 20th Anniversary

Mark your calendars: The Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team will open the 2011 season right here in the Pyramid on Monday, Januray 3.

The 49ers will be serving it up against the Alberta Pandas at 7:00 PM, marking the beginning of the season which is also the 20th anniversary of the National Championships. Did you know that in 1991, the 49ers claimed the National Title against USC all the way at the Neal Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, HI? We've been the top four seven times, but it's time we celebrate the two decade mark with another national championship!

We'll be posting some fun videos and photos of the team soon so stay tuned to the Black and Gold Insider Blog, and we'll always have all our latest news on our Facebook page at Facebook.com/lbsuathletics
Let's show some school spirit and cheer on the team January 3!