WEST REGIONAL : Creighton Stops CS Long Beach

Cal State Long Beach ventured into three-point country Wednesday night and made its quickest exit from the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.

Creighton, which leads the country in long-range shooting, made seven of 13 three-point shots, including five of eight from forward Kathy Halligan, to easily turn back the 49ers, 79-66, before a crowd of 3,502 at the Civic Auditorium.

Making matters worse for the 49ers was the absence of starting guard Marsheela Harriston, who was benched by Long Beach Coach Glenn McDonald for almost the first 16 minutes for disciplinary reasons.

Harriston entered the game with 4:11 to go in the first half but never seemed to get her rhythm and finished 0 for 5 from the field.

Senior guard Trise Jackson carried the 49ers throughout the first half with her own three-point shooting and finished with 34 points, one short of her career high.

Jackson made eight for 12 in the first half when she had 19 points. She sank three of four three-point attempts, but her teammates made only three for 22 from the field. “I think we played in spurts,” Jackson said. “We didn’t play very well tonight.”

Meanwhile, Creighton spread its offense, drawing the 49ers out to the perimeter. That opened up the low post area early in the game for Creighton forward Kris Kugel, who made six of her first nine field goals as Creighton built a 39-28 lead. Kugel finished with 27 points.

Halligan, Creighton’s all-time leading scorer who also tops the nation in three-point shooting percentage (54.9%), missed her first two attempts, but then sank five in a row. Her accuracy gave Creighton a cushion in the second half. A three-pointer with 14:19 left concluded an 11-2 run by Creighton, giving it a 50-36 lead. She added another two minutes later to make it 55-38.

It was the 27th consecutive home-court victory for No. 21-ranked Creighton (28-3), which takes a 16-game winning streak into the second round Sunday at No. 4 Stephen F. Austin.

It was the first NCAA first-round loss for the 49ers (21-10) in 11 seasons.

“Well, back to the Beach,” McDonald said as he left the arena. “Time to start over again.”