It Takes an Outside Job to Beat CS Long Beach Women

Holding a 6-point lead with 2 minutes to play in the game Tuesday night, the Cal State Long Beach women’s basketball team was in its usual position: a couple of fast breaks away from a win.

Then the unusual occurred. Maryland, a team known for not taking outside shots, began to sink 3-pointers. That, and a befuddled Long Beach team, allowed the ninth-ranked Terrapins to beat the eighth-ranked 49ers, 76-72, before 1,013 in the University Gym.

The loss snapped Long Beach’s 17-game home win streak.

The 49ers (6-3) had a 72-66 lead at 2:02, but Terrapin guard Deanna Tate sank 2 three-pointers and 2 free throws, and Vicky Bullett made a baseline basket to give Maryland the victory.

The Terrapins attempted a surprising 9 3-point shots and made 4 of them. This was definitely not a turn of events anticipated by the Long Beach coaching staff.

“We shot very few 3-pointers--maybe 7--all season,” Maryland Coach Chris Weller said. “That’s not our bread and butter.”

No, Maryland’s game is at the post, with 1988 Olympian Bullett at forward and Christy Winters at center. Bullett, a bullish defensive player, is averaging 20 points a game, Winters 15.

Naturally, Long Beach’s game plan was to deny the ball inside. And it worked. Too well. The 49ers keyed on Bullett and allowed her only 12 points--2 in the second half.

But Bullett’s teammates filled the void. Tate led all scorers with 31 points, many off steals (she had 7) and many more after driving perilously through the lane.

As Tate saw it, she just took what she was given.

“Their zone was so wide,” she said. “I was practicing to shoot off the dribble all week.”

The loss marred a good game by Long Beach guard Traci Waites, who had a career-high 30 points and 7 assists.

The first half was played tightly. Neither team established a sustained rhythm until well into the half.

The 49ers began to settle down and built a 6-point lead, 23-17, at 12:29. But that slipped away swiftly and Maryland took a 5-point lead at 7:27. Then Waites scored 9 of the 49ers’ 11 points at the end of the half to give Long Beach a 42-40 lead at halftime.

Long Beach Coach Joan Bonvicini was left shaking her head after the loss, but she didn’t want to dwell on it, especially since the 49ers host two other Top 20 teams this week, No. 18 Western Kentucky Thursday night and No. 13 Texas Saturday.

“We’ve got to get over it,” Bonvicini said. “The mark of a good team is to learn from a loss.”