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SAN DIEGO, Calif. – After what proved to be an historic season, the Big West regular-season runners-up Long Beach State fell, 75-57, at San Diego in the first round of the WNIT from Jenny Craig Pavilion on Thursday night.
LBSU caps the impressive 2023 campaign with a 23-10 overall record and a 17-3 mark in Big West play. The win tally in conference competition is the most for a Long Beach State squad since the 1988-89 season. The Beach also went over 1,000 program victories while in the midst of a 15-game winning streak that spanned from Jan. 12 to March 2.
LBSU was paced in the contest by a trio of upperclassmen in the season-ending loss. Big West Player of the Year Tori Harris contributed 14 points and three rebounds, with redshirt senior Ma’Qhi Berry scoring 14 on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and a 6-of-7 night from the line, to go along with a team-best six assists. Redshirt junior Kianna Hamilton-Fisher added 11 points with a game-high six steals.
San Diego’s leading scorer Kasey Neubert closed with a double-double of 18 points and a career-high 19 rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass. Neubert played two seasons at Hawai'i before heading to USD in 2021-22. Senior guard Ayanna Khalfani also added a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds along with team-bests of six assists and four steals. The Toreros crashed the glass fiercely, pulling down 50 boards compared to LBSU’s 22. The negative rebound margin was the largest of the season for the Beach, with the +28 tally for USD their largest gap since the first game of the season against Division II Biola.
The Beach made a splash in The Big West’s 2023 postseason awards, racking up multiple individual accolades. The Big West Player and Newcomer of the Year awards went to Harris, who joined LBSU from St. Bonaventure. Kristyna Jeskeova claimed two of the three Big West Specialty Awards after being named Best Defensive Player and Best Hustle Player, despite an injury-shortened season. Berry was named to the second team and three players claimed honorable mention status under the direction of Coach of the Year Jeff Cammon.
San Diego (18-13) advances to take on the winner of the contest between The Big West regular-season champion UC Irvine and first-round WNIT host San Diego State. The Aztecs and Anteaters tip off from Viejas Arena on Friday, March 17, at 6 p.m. PT.