Georgia Women Get Past Long Beach and Into the Final Four, 97-82

It didn’t matter that the Cal State Long Beach women’s basketball team was riding a crest of confidence heading into Saturday’s NCAA West Regional final against Georgia.

It didn’t matter that, in Coach Joan Bonvicini’s opinion, this year’s edition of the 49ers was more determined to reach the Final Four than any of her past teams.

And it didn’t matter that the third-ranked 49ers, playing in UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion, had more fan support than the eighth-ranked Bulldogs.

In the end, what really mattered was that Georgia had a more talented team than Long Beach.

The Bulldogs proved that by defeating the 49ers, 97-82, in front of 3,257 Saturday to earn a trip to Friday’s NCAA Final Four at Austin, Tex. Georgia (28-4) will meet the winner of today’s Western Kentucky-Mississippi game in the semifinals.

“It’s hard to believe Georgia lost four games this year,” said Bonvicini, whose 49ers finished with a 28-3 record. “They have great talent and they know how to use it.”

This is the third straight season that the 49ers came within one game of the Final Four. USC knocked them out of the tournament in each of the past two West Regional finals.

“But I’m still proud of this team,” Bonvicini said. “We’ll make the Final Four one of these years.”

There was no way they were going to make it this year. Not the way Georgia was playing Saturday.

The Bulldogs received excellent, all-around play from all five starters, while guard Teresa Edwards, who finished with a game-high 26 points, and center Janet Harris, who added 26, were virtually unstoppable.

Forward Lisa O’Connor added 17 points but, just as important, she held Long Beach forward Kirsten Cummings scoreless in the first half. Cummings had been averaging 16, but she finished with just six Saturday.

Georgia, which led for almost all of the first half, built a 14-point lead midway through the second and never allowed Long Beach to get any closer than eight points. Every time the 49ers threatened, the Bulldogs came up with the big basket.

Georgia shot 54% from the field (42 of 77) and was hardly bothered by Long Beach’s pressure defense. The Bulldogs, chased and double-teamed by the 49ers, committed just 11 turnovers.

“Long Beach played almost 40 minutes of the game behind us, trying to catch up,” Georgia Coach Andy Landers said. “There’s a certain kind of energy spent when you do that, and it wore on them. You could see it.”

Even more distressing for Long Beach was Georgia’s knack for coming up with the unbelievable plays at the perfect times.

Edwards, a speedy guard who played on the Olympic team last summer, made a variety of jump shots and driving layups, but her most astonishing basket came after Cindy Brown had scored to cut Georgia’s lead to 10 with 8:25 left.

Edwards drove the left side and found herself in the air underneath the basket. She reached back and, after being fouled by Carol Brandt, flipped the ball through the hoop. She converted the three-point play for a 13-point lead.

The 49ers later cut Georgia’s lead to eight, 77-69, with 5:05 remaining. Then Bulldog point guard Amanda Abrams made an errant pass inside to Harris. The ball bounced through Harris’ legs and right to O’Connor, who was in perfect position to make an easy layup.

Instead of a turnover and a chance to cut the lead to six, Long Beach was down by 10.

Finally on the Georgia highlight film was 6-foot-7 reserve center Barbara Bootz’s sky hook with with 2:53 left, which again gave the Bulldogs a 10-point cushion.

“When Bootz made that hook, it seemed as if they couldn’t miss,” Bonvicini said. “We could never get their lead under eight because they always came up with the key basket, free throw or rebound. And every time they needed a basket, Edwards would fire one in from downtown. Shots like that take a lot out of a team.”

They also can take a team right out of a tournament.

Brown led the 49ers with 20 points, Jackie White finished with 18, Roslind Boger had 16 points and 7 assists, and Janet Davis added 15.