PCAA Women’s Tournament : Long Beach Is Upset by Las Vegas

Just when you thought the Cal State Long Beach women’s basketball team had fully recovered from its embarrassing 31-point loss to USC on Feb. 22, the 49ers sank into a relapse.

Long Beach, which had won six straight games, including convincing victories over UC Santa Barbara and San Diego State in the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. tournament, was upset by Nevada Las Vegas, 99-89, in Saturday’s tournament final at the Forum.

The Rebels (22-8), as a result of their first victory over the 49ers in nine games, earned the conference’s automatic berth in the NCAA women’s tournament.

Long Beach, ranked seventh in the nation, is virtually assured of a tournament bid by virtue of its 28-4 record, but the 49ers lost the momentum they seemed to be building since losing to USC.

The intensity, which the 49ers showed in 31- and 42-point wins over Santa Barbara and San Diego State, was absent Saturday.

Their full-court press, which had helped cause 70 turnovers in the first two games, hardly bothered the Rebels. Four Long Beach players, including center Cindy Brown, fouled out. The 49ers made just 21 of 35 free throws.

“They seemed to want it more than us,” Long Beach Coach Joan Bonvicini said. “Missing those free throws really hurt our momentum, and we didn’t play good defense.

“Now, we’ve got to play every game as if it were our last, because if we lose, it will be our last.”

If the unranked Rebels continue to play as they did Saturday, they could surprise some teams in the NCAA tournament. Senior guard Misty Thomas, named the most valuable player of the PCAA tournament, scored 23 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, had 3 assists and 3 steals and did the bulk of the ballhandling against the Long Beach press.

Thomas picked up her fourth foul with 18:03 remaining and played all but one minute of the second half without fouling out. She made five free throws in the final two minutes to help prevent a 49er comeback.

Center Donya Monroe added 22 points, and reserve guard Zina Harris, whose playing time increased to 35 minutes because starter Angela Christian went out with a knee injury in the first half, scored 21 points.

“It wasn’t just one player who beat us,” Bonvicini said. “If we stopped a player at one time, someone else would beat us. They shot so well from the line (81%) and the field (59%). They beat us at our own game.”

The 49ers couldn’t get into their game. Brown finished with 30 points before fouling out with 7:17 left, and forward Carol Brandt added 23 points, but Long Beach failed to rattle the Rebels with its press and didn’t score many fast-break baskets.

The 49ers simply did not play defense with much enthusiasm. At one point early in the second half, Thomas grabbed a rebound, dribbled the length of the court and drove for a layup without resistance from a Long Beach player.

Late in the first half, the 49ers scored six straight points to cut UNLV’s lead to 81-71 and appeared to be making a run.

But Long Beach applied little pressure on Las Vegas’ ensuing possession and allowed the Rebels to get the ball inside the key to Monroe, who made an uncontested jump shot from 10 feet. Las Vegas maintained at least a 10-point lead the rest of the way.

“That was our best game of the year,” Jim Bolla, the Las Vegas co-coach, said. “But this game was no indication of what kind of team Long Beach is.”