Big West Player of the Week: Stephan Gilling
From Long Beach State reports
Senior ties school record with eight 3-pointers
Senior guard Stephan Gilling (Chino Hills, Calif.) has been named the Big West Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday afternoon.
Gilling led Long Beach State to a 96-61 rout of Cal State Monterey Bay on 
Saturday (Dec. 12) as he netted a career-high 28 points, 25 of which came in the first half. He finished 10-of-17 from the field and tied a 49er single-game record with eight 3-pointers.
Earlier in the week, Gilling poured in a team-high 18 points in a loss at No. 2 Texas. He accounted for all of his points on six threes.
For the week, Gilling averaged 23.0 points per game and shot 53.8 percent (14-of-26) from the field. He currently leads the Big West in 3-pointers made (34) and 3-pointers made per game (3.8).
It is the first career weekly award for Gilling and third for The Beach this season.
The 49ers return to action on Friday, Dec. 18, when they welcome Utah State to the Walter Pyramid for a 7 p.m. non-conference showdown.
W-Basketball: Late run not enough as LBSU loses to USC
Game Summary: Box Score
In a game that pitted the new against the old, Long Beach State’s women’s basketball head coach Jody Wynn, former player and assistant coach of the visiting team, guided her team to a near upset of the heavly favored USC Trojans, losing 83-77 in a game that was not decided until the final seconds.
Based upon this unique scenario, and the fact that the visiting team was also a local Pac-10 team, there was a buzz in the stands and an energy level on the court that has not been seen in the last two or three years.
Feeding off this energy, Karina Figueroa led the determined 49ers down the stretch with clutch three point plays, dazzling passes, and acrobatic drives down the lane - but more importantly, the team put the clamps down on defense not allowing the wide open jumpers that USC (4-3) used to build a 20 point lead early in the 2nd half.
However, USC hit enough shots and made their free throws down the stretch to hold off the surgering 49ers.
Figueroa led Long Beach State (3-4) with a season-best 26 points and a career-high tying 10 assists. Off guard LaTorya Barbee chipped in 15 points on a 6-of-9 shooting, while sharpshooter Lauren Sims scored 14 points. Forward Ashley Bookman led the 49ers on the boards with 9 rebounds.
USC had double-double performances from Briana Gilbreath (21 pts, 10 rbs), Hailey Dunham (13, 10), and Ashley Corral (10, 11).
Long Beach State now goes on the road to face another Pac-10 foe in the University of Oregon. The Ducks are guided by first year head coach Paul Westhead who has coach both men and women at the college and professional levels.
Quotes from the game:
LBSU’s head coach Jody Wynn
“I think we definitely showed our heart and our toughness. We have four losses, but every game we’ve finished with toughness and we’ve finished with heart. And that’s great.”
“They killed us on the offensive boards. You’re not going to win too many games when people double you up on the o-boards.”
“I’m not into moral victories but I’ll take that one.”
LBSU’s point guard Karina Figueroa
“We played our hearts out…I don’t know how else to put it.”
“As a team, we’re growing. This was a good challenge. I think we got the moral victory, I think we did a lot of productive things. We attacked the basket, we made open shots. We missed key rebounds in key possessions, but things happen.”
LBSU’s guard Latoya Barbee
“Nobody expected us to come out and play hard and we did. We never gave up, it was a loss but we don’t feel too bad, we could’ve beat them.”
“We showed heart and toughness. If you keep fighting like that, eventually you win those.”
USC’s head coach Michael Cooper
“I’ll tell you what, that young lady Figueroa is definitely a WNBA player. She keeps you on your toes.”
Images from the game:
Long Beach State's Ashley Bookman drives hard to the basket during the first half scoring the basket
Long Beach State's Ally Wade battles Christina Marinacci of USC for a rebound
LBSU's Karina Figueroa pushes the battle down the court during the first half
Big West Player of the Week: Ashley Lee
From Long Beach State reports
Long Beach State’s junior setter wins the award for the first time.
Junior setter Ashley Lee was named the Big West Player of the Week for Nov. 30, completing a stretch that has seen three different 49ers win the award in the last three weeks, joining Naomi Washington and Caitlin Ledoux. All three were earlier named first-team All-Big West.
Lee handed out 182 assists over four matches, averaging 11.38 per set as the 49ers went 3-1 at the Mizuno Thanksgiving Classic. Along with assists, Lee also helped with the offense in points, making nine aces and 21 kills over the four matches.
Against TCU to start the weekend, Lee made five kills, 11 digs and 51 assists in a four-set loss to the NCAA-Tournament bound Horned Frogs, and then guided an offense featuring four new players toa a four-set win over UNLV with a career-high four aces and .364 hitting.
On the second day of the tournament, Lee hit .385 with 28 assists and 14 digs in a sweep of LMU, and then closed out the tournament by hitting .417 with five kills while setting 54 assists and making 14 digs in a win over Utah.
In all, Lee had a double-double in all four matches of the weekend and led Long Beach State in hitting percentage at .362.
The award is the first for Lee in her career, and the fourth for Long Beach State this season. Caitlin Ledoux won the award two weeks ago, and Nomi Washington was last week’s winner. Washington also won on Sept. 14 after an All-Tournament performance at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Classic.
Big West Player of the Week: TJ Robinson
From Long Beach State reports
Sophomore averages a double-double in 76 Classic
Sophomore T.J. Robinson has been named the Big West Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week after leading the 76 Classic in scoring and rebounding. Robinson, who also was named to the 76 Classic All-Tournament Team, won the Big West honor for the second time in his career.
Robinson (West Haven, Conn./Kolbe Cathedral HS) averaged a tournament-high 20.0 points and 12.3 rebound per game as Long Beach State beat UCLA for the first time in school history, while also losing to No. 8 West Virginia and No. 19 Clemson. Robinson also led the tournament field in field goal attempts (12.7 per game), field goals made (7.7 per game), free throws made (3.7 per game), defensive rebounds (8.7 per game) and minutes (35.7 per game), while also ranking second in offensive rebounds (3.7 per game) and free throw attempts (8.3 per game).
Robinson put together back-to-back double-doubles on the second and third days of the tournament. Against Clemson, he finished with career highs in points (25) and rebounds (15), while making 9-of-13 shots. In the win over UCLA, Robinson matched his career high with 25 points, while grabbing 13 rebounds. He made 10-of-19 shots in the win. Robinson just missed three double-doubles in the tournament, finishing with 10 points (4-of-6 shooting) and nine rebounds in the opener against West Virginia.
Robinson’s player of the week honor was the second in three weeks for a Long Beach State player. Sophomore Larry Anderson won his first player of the week honor after The Beach beat Alaska Anchorage in the 49ers’ season opener. Robinson’s first career player of the week honor came as a freshman during Big West Conference play.
Beach Review: Nov. 23 – 29
The men’s basketball team goes 1-2 during the 76 Classic
11/26 – No. 8 West Virgina vs Long Beach State: Box Score
The 76 Classic opened up the tourney pitting Long Beach State against No. 8 West Virgina, the highest ranked team in the field. The Mountaineers (3-0) did not disappoint a large contingent of their fans that made the trip from West Virgina, winning the game 85-62.
LBSU was very tentative during the first half allowing the Mountaineers pressure defense to create all sorts of problems for the team. The 49ers committed 15 turnovers in the first half, which helped West Virgina to open a 16 point half time lead that they would never relinquish.
The Beach (3-2) was led by both of their sharp shooters, Greg Plater and Stephen Gilling, knocking in 14 points apiece.
West Virgina’s Casey Mitchell was their leading scorer with 18, and Kevin Jones was their leading rebounder with 9.
11/27 – No. 19 Clemson vs Long Beach State: Box Score
Long Beach State faced another nationally ranked team in No. 19 Clemson (5-1) but this time around the team played with aggression and confidence. However, after cutting Clemson’s late second half lead to one, The Beach could not put enough defensive stops together leading to the Tigers 87-79 victory.
Behind the improved play the 49ers (3-3) had three players with double-doubles: Eugene Phelps (12 pts, 1o rbs), T.J. Robinson (25 pts, 15 rbs), and Casper Ware (20 pts, 10 assists).
Clemson’s leading score was Tanner Smith who netted 17 points while grabbing 6 rebounds.
11/29 – UCLA vs Long Beach State: Box Score
Based on a very strong overall team effort the Long Beach State 49ers defeats the UCLA Bruins by a score of 79-68.
The 49ers were led by T.J. Robinson who had a monster of a game scoring 25 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
Long Beach State (4-3) also received a very strong performance from Casper Ware (11 pts, 6 assists) who dictated the game’s tempo while driving the UCLA point guards crazy with his quick moves to the basket.
The Bruins (2-4) were led by Michael Roll’s 23 points.
Coach Wynn & Co. return to California with a win and a loss after competing in the University of Miami’s thanksgiving tournament
11/27 – Miami vs Long Beach State: Box Score
Lauren Sim’s 25 points was not enough as Long Beach State falls to the University of Miami 83-66 to open the thanksgiving tournament.
The 49ers (2-3) kept the game interesting by only trailing the undefeated Hurrinances (6-0) by 9 at half; however, Miami kept hitting the offensive glass (23) stretching the lead upwards of 20 points.
Karina Figueroa recorded her second double-double of the season going for 23 points and 10 assists.
The University of Miami was led by Diane Barnes’ 20 points and 12 rebounds.
11/28 – Rice vs Long Beach State: Box Score
Long Beach State outlasts Rice 68-64 in a back and forth game.
After Rice built a 19-5 lead, the 49ers battled back to take the lead at 25-23. Both teams exchanged leads throughout the remainder of the game until Karina Figueroa sank six free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.
Long Beach State had a balance attack with four players in double figures in scoring: Figueroa (17), Wade (12), Lisnock, (11), and Barbee (10).
Rice’s leading scorer was Jackie Stanley who ended up with a double-double scoring 24 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
Big West Players of the Week: Washington & Wade
From Long Beach State reports
Naomi Washington earns second Big West Player of the Week award
Senior Naomi Washington earned her second Big West Player of the Week award of the season after leading Long Beach State to a 10th Big West Championship, and the second in a row for the 49ers.
The 49ers clinched a bid into their 23rd consecutive with two wins last week, defeating UC Riverside and UC Irvine, with the latter coming in a match that sent the winner to the postseason.
Against the Highlanders, Washington led The Beach with 11 kills and added a pair of aces in a 3-0 victory.
The following evening, Washington put together one of the most complete matches of her career on a big stage, leading the 49ers with 26 kills on .421 hitting and making a career-high 10 digs in her first career double-double. Washington also added an ace and four blocks in the five-set win over the Anteaters.
Washington also won the award after the Tulane Sugar Bowl Classic on Sept. 14, and becomes the second LBSU player in a row to be named the Big West Player of the Week after Caitlin Ledoux earned the honor last week.
Wade named Big West Women’s Basketball Player of the Week
Senior forward Ally Wade (Yorba Linda, Calif./El Dorado HS) was tabbed the Big West Women’s Basketball Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday afternoon.
Wade led The Beach to a convincing 79-56 road win against Texas-Pan American (Nov. 22), draining a season-high 22 points, while pulling down seven rebounds. She went 7-of-10 from the field, including a 4-for-7 performance from beyond the arc.
Two days earlier, Wade poured in 16 points and grabbed six boards in 34 minutes at New Mexico State. Against the Aggies, she netted four 3-pointers and was 2-for-2 from the free throw line.
Wade started the week by nearly recording a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds against Loyola Marymount (Nov. 16).
For the week, Wade averaged 15.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per outing, while shooting 50.0 percent from the field.
This is Wade’s first career weekly honor and it is also the first such award for Long Beach State this season.
Beach Review: Nov. 16 – 22
Dan Monson and his men’s basketball team go 2-1 on the road this week.
11/17 – Long Beach State vs Pepperdine: Box Score
After struggling to put away their opponent in the first half, Long Beach State used a couple of highlight reel runs to separate themselves from the Pepperdine Waves in their 67-58 victory.
Larry Anderson had a huge second half scoring 15 points, grabbing five rebounds, dishing out four assists, while grabbing three steals.
T.J. Robinson also had an outstanding night recording his second consecutive double double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Pepperdine was led by Keion Bell who finished with 21 points and grabbing 6 rebounds.
11/19 – Long Beach State vs Notre Dame: Box Score
After a very competitive first half, Notre Dame used two second half runs to put away the young 49ers 82-62. The game ending 20 point differential was not indicative of the game as the 49ers were within striking distance for the majority of the contest.
Long Beach State was led again by Larry Anderson’s 20 points, but he scored just four in the second half. The team also received strong performances from T.J. Robinson (16 points), Greg Plater (11 points), and Eugene Phelps (18 rebounds).
Notre Dame was led by All-American Luke Harangody’s double-double, scoring 29 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.
11/21 – Long Beach State vs Green Bay: Box Score
Stephan Gilling scored 20 of his 22 points in the first half setting the stage for Long Beach State’s 81-68 victory over Green Bay.
Both sophomores, Larry Anderson and Eugene Phelps, had monster second halves keeping the Phoenix at bay. Anderson finished with 17 points and 4 steals, while Phelps had 15 points and 8 rebounds.
Green Bay was led by two players in double figures: Randy Berry and Troy Cotton had 16 points apiece.
The Long Beach State women’s basketball team ends the week with a win after losing two.
Women’s basketball split on the road after losing one at home earlier in the week.
11/16 – Loyola Marymount vs Long Beach State: Box Score, Pictorial
The Long Beach State women’s basketball team was unable to complete a late game rally falling to Loyola Marymount at home 75-70.
Seniors Karina Figueroa (21 pts) and Lauren Sims (14 pts) led The Beach (1-1) in scoring, while Alley Wade controlled the boards recording 8 rebounds.
Loyola Marymount (1-1) was led by two players scoring 14 points apiece: Renahy Young and Alex Cowling.
11/20 – Long Beach State vs New Mexico State: Box Score
Long Beach State (1-2) committed a season high 29 turnovers, while shooting 32 percent, in their 69-56 loss to the New Mexico State Aggies.
Karina Figueroa led the 49ers (1-2) with 20 points, while fellow seniors Ally Wade and Lauren Sims added 16 and 11 respectively. Junior Ashley Bookman also had a fine showing grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds.
New Mexico State’s (2-1) leading scorer was Crystal Boyd who netted 17 points.
11/20 – Long Beach State vs Texas-Pan America: Box Score
After a very competitive first half, the Long Beach State women’s basketball team blitzed Texas-Pan America on their way to a lopsided 79-56 victory.
Senior Ally Wade led the 49ers (2-2) with 22 points going 7-for-10, while fellow seniors Lauren Sims and Brett Timmons scored 14 and 13 respectively.
This was the first road victory for the team this season and newly hired head coach Jody Wynn. The team’s last road victory came against UCI on February 26, 2009.
Texas-Pan American (0-3) was led by Rachel Hester’s 14 points.
The women’s volleyball team clinches the Big West Conference title after ending the week 2-0.
11/20 – UC Riverside vs Long Beach State: Box Score
Long Beach State entered this match needing two wins to secure their second straight conference championship, and looking past UCR could have proven costly.
Behind strong performances from Jocelyn Neely(.318) and Naomi Washington (11 kills), the Long Beach State 49ers put UCR away in 3, setting up a showdown with UCI for the Big West Conference title.
UCR was led by Kelly Quinn’s 8 kills and her 3 block assists.
11/21 – UCI vs Long Beach State: Box Score
After a see saw battle, and after trailing 4-1 in the decisive 5th set, the Long Beach State women’s volleyball team pulls off the win and secures the Big West Conference championship and its automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
From a statistics point of view, Naomi Washington was the difference maker putting down 5 kills in the decisive set; however, a key defensive play might have actually been the back breaker.
Trailing 6-5 in the 5th, Libby Fontanilla and Lauren Minkel combined for three spectacular digs that led to winning the point and changing the game’s momentum.
UCI was led by Juliane Piggott’s 27 kills and 15 digs, followed by Kari Pestolesi’s 20 kills and 21 digs.
Men’s water polo season ends with a 9-8 loss at Pacific.
11/21 – Long Beach State vs Pacific
The 2009 season came to an end as the nationally ranked (6th) Long Beach State men’s water polo team dropped a 9-8 decision to the Pacific Tigers. The 49ers needed to win Saturday to secure a spot in the MPSF tournament if they had any hopes of making the NCAA tournament. The 49ers finish the 2009 campaign at 9-12 overall and 1-7 in MPSF play.
LBSU was up 8-5 in the third quarter before Pacific scored four unanswered goals.
W-Soccer: New look 49ers blank the Bulldogs
The 49ers Karina Camacho looks to move the ball up field during a home match against Fresno State.
Long Beach State women’s soccer shine in their season opener against Fresno State.
A new era began Sunday when the Long Beach State women’s soccer team hosted the Fresno State Bulldogs at George Allen Field. The season opener seemed a bit strange not seeing Coach Ingrassia’s foundation class taking the field, but if the new version of the team continues to improve from this base line performance, “Version 2.0” might be every bit as good as the old one, and then some.
Led by strong performances by midfielders Lindsay Bullock and Shawna Gordon, the 49ers blanked the Bulldogs 2-0 before an announced crowd of 315.
Starting seven returning players and four newcomers, the Beach appeared more comfortable then they did during their scrimmage against Azusa Pacific. The team was now putting together quality touches and applying pressure right from the beginning, something that was missing just one week earlier.
During the 13th minute, midfielder Lindsay Bullock opened the scoring by heading in a perfectly placed Shawna Gordon corner kick. The goal was the first of the season, but I am sure it will not be the last from this “dynamic duo” off set-pieces.
Even though the 49ers could not find the back of the net during the remainder of the first half, Coach Ingrassia must have been happy with the team’s performance. The ladies were keeping the ball on the ground, making quick short passes, and the majority of play was in their opponent’s half of the field.
The Beach finally broke through in the 70th minute scoring off another set-piece. This time Gordon did not need any assistance from her fellow teammates bending in her own corner kick. It appeared that the Fresno State goalie, Kaitlyn Revel, missed played the ball or was shielded from seeing the ball clearly.
The 49ers dominated the match against a much more experience Fresno State team; the Bulldogs returned 16 letter winners and were coming off of a NCAA tournament appearance. The young Beach squad led all major statistical categories, including shots (15 to 6) and corner kicks (8 to 1).
In addition to the outstanding play by midfields Bullock and Gordon, the 49ers received strong contributions for newcomer Karina Camacho (6 shots) and their entire backline: Nicole Hubbard, Bo Rael, Alex Balcer, and Chantel Hubbard.
The road only gets tougher from here as the 5th ranked UCLA Bruins come to town on Sunday, in what is clearly the biggest home match in 49er history.
Summer Spotlight: M-Basketball’s Eugene Phelps
Eugene Phelps looking to pass the ball during the Green Bay game.
A couple of Novembers ago, I remember how excited the Long Beach State athletic community was with the signing of Eugene Phelps. Coach Dan Monson inked a player that had off the charts athletic ability, and played for a power house of a team in Taft High School. Everyone envisioned an instant starter, and the power forward of the future.
Fast forward a year from that signing. Eugene was now a member of a team, and of a freshman class, that had an enormous amount of young talent. Minutes were not going to be found as easily as all of us thought, even for a player of Phelps’s caliber. During the season he did indeed battled for minutes, but still put up some respectable numbers for a freshman. Eugene ended the season averaging 14 minutes, 2.6 rebounds, and 3.7 points per game.
Now fast forward again, but this time to this past July. As I made my way to my summer home, the Say No Classic, I was looking forward to watching some of the LBSU players in action. I was told that Eugene was playing for the Sinclair Bruins, a team loaded with young and talented UCLA players. Knowing how this team is ran, I thought Phelps might be a starter, but more likely coming off the bench with the majority of the minutes going to the UCLA kids. However, I could not have been more wrong.
If I had to sum up Eugene’s play this summer in one word – MONSTER. Man, I could not believe my own eyes. I was watching this player and saying to myself, “could this be Long Beach’s Eugene Phelps”. This young man was full of confidence, and took everything hard to the hole. He knew he was the MAN on this team, and so did his teammates. This was not the same player I watched just a few months earlier.
Game after game, I consistently watched Phelps put up 20 points and 10 rebounds. He was calling for the ball on every possession, and was receiving it more times then not. You have to remember that this was happening in a run and gun league, where the majority of shots come from the guards. On top of that, this was on the Sinclair Bruins, a team designed to give minutes and to promote UCLA players.
As the season wore on, I came to expect that Eugene Phelps would dominate games and bring on cheers from the crowd. He was now the post player we all envisioned so many months ago.
Summer Spotlight: Softball’s Megan Denio
Megan Denio squares up at the plate during one of her at bats for the Hurricanes.
Now that the 2009 LBSU softball season is clearly in our rear view mirror, we can now look back and replay all of the fond memories created during this past season; however, a season ended brings on highly anticipated opportunities for returning players, especially the ones that embraced supporting roles this past season. One player that falls into this category is Megan Denio. This sophomore to be will be challenging for a starting position now that two senior outfields have graduated, Brianna “Breezy” Goad and Daniel Linke.
Prior to coming to LBSU, Megan Denio had an outstanding high school and travel ball career. She garnered All-CIF honors and played on a very successful So Cal Explosions travel ball team. Like the majority of college scholarship players, she was accustomed to a starting roll and plenty of playing time; however, her new team had some very successful upperclassman returning at her position. Denio adjusted and enthusiastically took on her new role as a base runner, an occasional pinch hitter, and a vocal team supporter.
This summer Denio played right field for the Hurricanes, a very successful 23U team filled with all sorts of college stars. Her teammates included: Megan Lagerfeld (UCLA), Aleah Macon (UCLA via Washington), Lindsey Sisk (Arizona), Niki Williams (Washington), and her former LBSU mate Jennifer Griffin. This past July the Hurricanes won the 23U National Championship in an impressive fashion. Outside of their first game, they run ruled all of their opponents including a very impressive Legends team, also made up of college all-stars. Megan batted .615 during this stretch and garnered 1st Team All-American honors.
Denio races to beat out the throw to 1st during tournament play.
I was fortunate enough to watch Denio play a couple of times with the Hurricanes. Based on my previous experience watching her play high school travel ball, I knew she was an outstanding slap hitter that had some wheels, but what I did not know was that she was a pretty darn good line drive hitter too. In the plate appearances I saw, she was basically 50/50 on how she approached each at bat. One time slapping the other time swinging away. She was equally impressive at both, so I expect that this versatility should go a long way once the “real season” gets started. Along with her impressive hitting, she once again showed speed on the bases and in the outfield.
Based on what I saw this summer, and more importantly the success Megan Denio had on the Hurricanes, it appears that she might just be at the front of the line when Coach Sowder starts handing out those starting positions.
