Long Beach State
Second-Half Comeback Lifts Long Beach State to 65-53 Win Over Cal Poly
1/30/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
LONG BEACH, Calif. — Dynn Leaupepe and Hannah Gilbert combined for 35 points and 14 rebounds for the Cal Poly women's basketball team, but Long Beach State came back from an eight-point second-half deficit Saturday evening to edge the Mustangs at Walter Pyramid, 65-53 in Big West Conference play.
The 49ers (16-5, 5-2) scored the game's first 11 points, but the Mustangs quickly rallied, using a 12-5 run to pull within 16-14.
Long Beach State then closed the first quarter with seven straight points for a 23-14 lead, but the Mustangs went on a 21-6 surge over the next nine minutes.
Sophomore guard Gabby Grupalo hit a 3-pointer to cut the gap to 25-21 with 6:48 to go before the break. Gilbert, a junior forward, then scored on a layup to tie it at 29 with 3:07 left.
Two possessions later, Gilbert added another basket, plus the foul, to give the Mustangs their first lead, 31-29, en route to a 37-32 halftime advantage.
Cal Poly (10-10, 3-4) shot 16-of-29 and had a 23-11 rebounding margin in the opening half, as Leaupepe, a sophomore guard, had posted 15 points by intermission (complemented by Gilbert's 12).
Another layup from Gilbert pushed the lead to 41-34 with 7:22 left in the third quarter, before Leaupepe drove again to provide the Mustangs their largest lead of the night, 47-39, with 2:47 to play in the period.
After beginning the fourth down 48-44, Long Beach State drew even on a Jewelyn Sawyer layup with 8:19 to go, before regaining the upper hand at 50-48 on a Madison Montgomery basket the next trip up the floor.
Raven Benton then followed with a 3 to put the 49ers in front 53-48. The Mustangs battled back to make it a 55-53 game on a jumper by junior forward Amanda Lovely, but Long Beach State didn't allow a point over the final 5:21 on the way to its first home victory over Cal Poly since 2013.
Long Beach State, which began the week leading the Big West in steals, at 9.7 per game, had 14 Saturday.
Leaupepe finished with a game-high 19 points (following her 25-point effort Thursday at UC Riverside) and eight rebounds, while Gilbert added 16 points and six boards.
Cal Poly will return home to host Hawai'i (11-9, 4-3) at 7 p.m. Thursday (also Greek Night).
The Mustangs will then welcome UC Irvine (4-17, 1-6) to Mott Athletics Center for a 4 p.m. tipoff Saturday (when all fans who wear pink, part of the Play 4 Kay Initiative in support of the fight against cancer, receive free admission).
Photo © 2016 David E. Holmes • (For more photos of the team in action, click here.)
